Indigenous Governance: A Sámi field course

This course will provide a broad understanding of Indigenous governance in developed democracies, with an in-depth focus on Sámi governance taught through active engagement, meetings with relevant actors, and visits to Indigenous institutions.

The course will include class sessions in Bergen as well as a mandatory fieldtrip to Finnmark, where students will visit institutions including the Norwegian Sámi Parliament, Sámi University of Applied Sciences, Nordic Sámi Institute, and Sápmi Park. In Finnmark, students will engage with Sami and other political leaders, activists, bureaucrats, journalists, and academics.

The course is organized by the research project CONFRONT - Contested Frontiers: Understanding the Constitutional Politics of Settler State Peripheries.

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

Knowledge:

• Ability to define and understand the field of Indigenous governance and the core debates within the field.
• Demonstrates extensive knowledge about challenges, opportunities, institutions, and processes of Indigenous governance in developed democracies.
• Demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of Sámi Indigenous governance in Norway.

Skills:

• Ability to identify and develop a relevant (to the field) research question.
• Ability to design and conduct an independent research project in political science.
• Ability to understand and utilize complex research articles, identifying their relevance to society and to themes within comparative research.
• Acquisition and refinement of transferable skills including communication (oral and written), analytical skills, and methodological skills.
• Ability to identify, analyze, and reflect upon arguments and positions put forward in contemporary debates on the status and position of indigenous people.

General competence:

• Critical thinking and the ability to employ an analytical approach in studying and discussing various questions in political science.
• Ability to effectively find, process, summarize, compare, and communicate advanced and relevant academic literature on indigenous governance.
• Ability to develop a research design and plan.
• Ability to critically relate concepts and perspectives on indigenous governance to new situations and developments, and to engage in debates with others on implications, solutions, and recommendations.