Course content

This is a special course designed for students participating in a semester-long international exchange program between NTNU and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO). The course runs the full length of the semester in which the exchange occurs.

GEOG2024 focuses specifically on the topics of conservation, sustainability and environmental citizenship through the lens of public land management and national parks around the world. Theoretically, we will engage with the concept of boundaries. Boundaries can be concrete, as in spatial or jurisdictional boundaries, gradients such as temporal boundaries, or more abstract as with identity and legacy boundaries. The concept provides a framework through which to examine different ways people divide, group, and organize spaces and places in the name of conservation and control of nature. Whether these different forms of separation are sustainable, and to whom they grant the rights of environmental citizenship (i.e. a right to be part of decision-making with regards to the environment), are topics we will engage through lecture and discussion. Practically, we will review the history of national parks worldwide in relation to land tenure and management. Norwegian, international and multi-national case studies are used to elucidate these issues. The final unit of the semester will be a field course to Yellowstone National Park in the USA.

Learning outcome

A student who has completed this course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

• At a minimum, an introductory understanding of key theories for national and international natural resource management and conservation. These include theories of scale, value, land tenure and environmental governance, justice, and situated knowledges.
• Is able to define and identify similarities and differences among the empirical realities and concepts of natural resources, nature, and the environment.
• Has developed an understanding of the role of national parks and protected areas in public lands management and nature conservation, including how this has developed over time and manifests differently based on local, national, and international contexts.

Skills:

• Is able to apply, in writing, the theories they have learned to understand and interpret case studies at different scales and in different contexts.
• Through group activities, students will develop the ability to communicate complex theories and environmental issues to a range of public and academic audiences.

General competence:

• Continually develop the ability to independently analyze and reflect on existing approaches to conservation, sustainability, and environmental citizenship.

Learning methods and activities

• Up to 26 hours of classroom instruction
• 2 overnight field trips in Norway
• 3.5 week field course in USA

Please note that compulsory activities and lectures may be scheduled earlier than the deadline for registering for the course.

Teaching will only be given if a sufficient number of students register for the course and if the Department has sufficient teaching resources. See www.ntnu.edu/studies/courses for the most up to date information on the courses not being offered.

Compulsory assignments

• Participation in field course and seminars
• Reflexive journal
• Presentation

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

Completed GEOG1010, GEOG1011, GEOG1012, GEOG1013, GEOG1014 or equivalent.

Required previous knowledge

This is an admission restricted course. Admission requires that you have been selected to participate in the student exchange program Conservation, Sustainability and Environmental Citizenship (CONSEC). Admission to the course is done in consultation with the Department of Geography.

Credit reductions