Svalbard: The Arctic Course Environment and Society in a Changing Arctic
In June, KTH, California State University and Luleå University of Technology will offer this summer course focusing on the environmental, political, economic and social changes currently taking place in the Arctic. Eight programme students at KTH have the opportunity to participate in the course, which is partly conducted as a field trip to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard.
Drawing upon the diverse areas of expertise of the course leaders, “Environment and Society in a Changing Arctic” is a collaboration between KTH Royal Institute of Technology; California State University, Fullerton; and Luleå University of Technology. The undergraduate course will take place in June 2025, and consist of students from all three institutions.
About
The Arctic has attracted a great deal of international attention and concern in recent years, largely triggered by a dramatically changing climate in a region that is warming four times as fast as the rest of the planet. Retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost and drastic reductions in sea ice have led to serious challenges for Arctic countries, local communities and indigenous people living in northern latitudes, while rising sea levels and altered long-range weather patterns caused by changes in Arctic ice cover have consequences around the world; “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” is an often-repeated mantra that encapsulates the Arctic’s growing global importance.
These environmental changes in the Arctic have also stimulated perceptions of economic opportunity, as disappearing ice on land and sea offer new possibilities for accessing oil, natural gas and strategic mineral reserves, as well as opening up new shipping routes between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. For these and a range of other reasons, the Arctic is emerging as a region of rising international interest where the United States, Russia, China and other state actors vie for influence and advantage. Arctic geopolitics, governance and sustainable development have therefore become high-level issues on the political and scientific agendas of many countries both inside and outside the region.
Course structure
The aim of this two-week summer course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the contemporary and long- term processes of environmental, political, economic and social change that are transforming the Arctic. The course consists of two main components: classroom instruction at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the Swedish capital of Stockholm; and field-based learning in Svalbard, an archipelago belonging to Norway at 78° North in the High Arctic.
After the completing the course, students will be able to:
- Understand environmental change in the Arctic over time, and how these changes are creating new challenges and opportunities today.
- Explain the main processes of societal, economic and political change in the region.
- Discern the impacts and legacies of human activities for Arctic communities and environments.
- Carry out basic field research through documentation of Svalbard’s physical geography and cultural remains, and conduct interviews with local stakeholders.
- Critically analyze current events in the Arctic.