UTVPR6000 Power, Politics and Religion in South America Course description

Introduction

Power, Politics and Religion in South America is a 30 ETCS course taught during one semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a joint venture between Oslo Metropolitan University and Kulturstudier (Culture Studies), an independent Oslo-based enterprise that offers international academic courses at study centers in Vietnam, Nepal, Ghana, Argentina and Costa Rica. Kulturstudier’s university partner in Buenos Aires is Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSM), and a limited number of study places are awarded to Argentinian students. The semester starts with an initial 7 weeks’ self-study period; followed by 10 weeks of teaching at UNSM in Buenos Aires; and concludes with a 3-week exam writing period.

The course is taught through an interdisciplinary approach incorporating elements of history, political science, political economy, geography, social anthropology and cultural studies, with the objective of giving students an understanding of key issues related to power, politics and religion in South America. To ensure in-depth knowledge and learning - while simultaneously reflecting the diversity of the region - the course has a particular focus on three select countries: Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge

The student

• has attained broad knowledge about the central themes, perspectives and theories in study of the region, as it relates to power, politics, religion.

• is acquainted with the history of South American studies, and its chief characteristics

• is familiar with key research frontiers related to central topicalities of the region

• knows how to identify, and become updated on, emerging knowledge in the study of South America

Skills

The student

• can use knowledge about power, politics and religion in South America for both academic and professional purposes

• can reflect critically about their own way of attaining and employing knowledge about power, politics, religion

• knows how to find, assess and reference knowledge when exploring related academic questions and problem statements.

General competence

The student

• can plan and execute work requirements that span varied tasks across time, alone and in a group

• can present and disseminate academic knowledge in written, oral and/or other forms

• is capable of exchanging knowledge and perspectives with others in related fields

• is aware of ethical challenges applicable to related fields of study

Content

The course is divided into four modules.

1. Introductory Self-Study

The semester begins with a 7-week web-based self-study period, before start-up in Argentina. In this period, students read introductory texts from the curriculum and write and submit a paper (1,800 words). See further details in the section Mandatory Work Requirements below.

At the outset of the self-study period, the student receives information from and establishes contact with a seminar teacher. Students are expected to work individually and independently throughout the self-study period but may forward questions to the assigned seminar teacher. A general supervision meeting (webinar) is offered. All communication between students and teachers goes through OsloMet’s learning platform.

Modules 2, 3 and 4 are taught in Buenos Aires through an extensive lecture series held physically at UNSM. Furthermore, students attend seminars; collaborate in group work; and participate in joint activities including excursions to sites relevant for the course thematic.

2. History, Political Trajectories and Institutions

• Precolonial and colonial history; liberation and key political structures and institutions at independence.

• Modern political and economic history and thought (including development theories).

• The role South American countries in international relations; including their insertion in the global finance-, production- and trade systems.

3. Inequality, Resource Struggles and Sustainability Challenges

• Key features of the region’s deep economic and political inequalities - across class, gender and ethnicity - and key power relations and structures that sustain such.

• Struggles over commons and extractives (minerals, timber, agricultural commodities etc.), and for human rights and justice - and the role of social movements, including those of indigenous groups, peasants, women and other oppressed groups.

• Chief sustainability challenges, especially those related to the region as a key site in the crises of climate and the environment.

• The ‘criminalization’ of state and society, including the place of corruption, violence and drugs in everyday life and in politics.

4. Religions, Identities and Popular Cultures

• The practices, roles and politics of South America’s religious multitudes - including conservative vs. progressive Catholicism; Syncretism (such as Candomblé and Umbanda); and Neo-Evangelican/Charismatic churches

• Indigenous worldlings and relational ontologies from across the region, including of the Andes and the Amazon.

• The concept of culture in a broad perspective, including explorations of distinctions between "high" and "low" culture.

• Popular culture including football; carnival, telenovelas, music and street art.

Mandatory work requirements

1. Introductory self-study paper

By the end of the initial 7-weeks’ self-study period, the student must submit an introductory paper of 1,800 words (+/- 10%), in English, through OsloMet’s accredited learning platform, on a given topic and before a given deadline. Students are expected to work individually and independently throughout the self-study period but may forward questions to the assigned seminar teacher.

The paper will be assessed within two weeks of submission: It is graded ‘pass’ or ’fail’, and the student receives written or oral feedback from the seminar teacher. If the paper is not submitted in due time, or is graded ‘fail’, the student may re-submit the paper once, according to instruction of the seminar teacher. If the requirement remains unmet, the student will not be allowed to sit exam.

The rationale for this mandatory activity is to ensure that students begin their study of the course geography and thematic well in advance of start-up in Argentina.

2. Attending lectures, seminars/joint activities, and group work meetings

The student must attend at least 80% of lectures, 80% of seminars/joint activities, and 80% of group work meetings. A student who fails any of the attendance requirements but does have legitimate grounds for such failure - as documented by medical statement - may request an additional assignment: a paper of 2,000 words, on a title given by the teacher, to be submitted within 72 hours of issue. Students attending less than 60% in either of the above-mentioned activities, automatically lose the right to sit exam, no matter the legitimacy of absence.

The purpose of attendance requirement is to ensure that students engage actively with curriculum and learning activities throughout the course and share insights and reflections with each other. Self-study cannot substitute for the imparting of knowledge and learning through lectures and seminars/joint activity; group-based and student-led learning is of particular importance.

Mode of assessment

1. Written group paper: A paper of 4,500 words (+/- 10 %), in English, written collaboratively in groups of 4-5 members during the course period in Argentina. Each group choose their own problem statement but it must relate perspectives from the syllabus to empirical cases from the region, and it must be accepted by the course teacher upfront. A seminar teacher offers supervision throughout the group’s research- and writing process. The paper shall be submitted electronically in OsloMet’s examination platform by a given deadline, by the end of the course period in Argentina.

2. Individual written home exam: A paper of 4,500 words (+/- 10 %), in English, on a given topic. The topic is issued when the course program in Argentina is concluded, and the paper must be submitted within the subsequent three weeks.

Final assessment

The student will be awarded a composite grade where the grade of the group paper counts 40% and the individual exam counts 60% of the final grade. Both exams must be passed in order for the student to be awarded a final grade. If a student does not pass one of the exams, only the failed exam shall be re-taken.

Grading Scale

According to the ECTS grading scale, with A-E as pass grades, and F as fail grade.

New or postponed examination

Students who fail their examination, or who pass but wish to improve their grade, may sit ordinary examinations in the following term. This also applies for students with valid absence.

For further information see: Regulations relating to studies and examination at OsloMet.

"Group papers and individual exam papers are graded by an internal and an external examiner"

Target Group

The target group comprises students who take an interest in academic disciplines such as history, geography, social anthropology, political science, political economy and cultural studies, and who want to better understand power, politics and religion in South America. The course can be integrated into OsloMet’s bachelor degree in Development Studies, equaling one semester’s study (30 ETCS).

Admission requirements

Applicants must meet the minimum requirements for Higher Education Entrance Qualification in Norway (generell studiekompetanse).