MJ5200 Klimajournalistikk, teori og praksis Emneplan

Culture and Identity is one of the courses under Nordic Childhoods. Joint events with the other Nordic Childhoods courses are integrated into the course. The student’s cultural background is a resource during lectures and classroom discussions, through experience-based learning and critical reflection. The course includes fieldwork observations in kindergartens and schools, in addition to visits to relevant sites.

Important components in the pedagogical work with children in a Nordic context are play, learning related to play, nature and community surroundings. In this course, the focus is on the Norwegian educational system in both a broader and more specific Norwegian context.

Culture and identity address the question of who we are, and is related to definitions of the other, as well as by the other: Who are ‘we’ and who are ‘the others’. These are not static concepts, but are rather subject to sociocultural change both nationally as well as globally.

One of the defining forces of culture and identity is religion. Religious diversity is part of cultural diversity and the changes that have developed globally, hence it also affects culture and identity in the Norwegian context. How does this affect Norwegian childhoods?

The power relations and political forces around the child and childhoods are important drivers of these changes, producing various kinds of school systems, and preschool and kindergarten systems. Culture and identity is therefore not only about who we are, but also very much about childhood perspectives and constructs and how they affect us. The question is thus not only who we are, but also ‘Who do they want us to be?’.

Norway, like most other societies today, is a ‘multicultural’ society. The Sami indigenous people living in the Nordic countries have long been a part of this cultural diversity. Related to this, it is also important to focus on power relations between minorities and majorities. Culture and identity, involving definitions of ‘us’ and ‘them’, also enables racism and discrimination towards ethnic and linguistic minorities, as well as the politics of assimilation of the Sami. In this and many other regards, Norway and Nordic societies are no different from other countries, showing attributes similar to those of the rest of the larger global system, which Norway is a part of.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence

Knowledge

The student

• has awareness and knowledge of the factors that constitute a person's identity
• has knowledge of the concept of ‘Culture’, and an awareness of the individual student’s culture in particular
• has knowledge of childhood and identity construction

Skills

The student

• has skills in observing and analysing a new educational and cultural setting
• has skills in communicating across cultural and linguistic borders
• has the ability to facilitate inclusive practices in groups characterised by diversity

General competence

The student

• is able to reflect on experiences of other international students’ languages and cultures
• has an awareness of the implications of living in a globalised world
• is able to reflect on experiences of the multiple cultural settings in kindergartens / schools in Oslo

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

• has advanced interdisciplinary knowledge of climate change, and the societal/psychological/communicational challenges for climate journalism
• has thorough knowledge of both the difficulties and the possibilities of climate change communication in the media and in journalism

Skills

The student

• is able to critically analyze different perceptions and experiences of global climate change in the media
• is able to relate these differences to the global and universal dimensions of climate change for the past, present and future of humanity and life on earth
• can explain and communicate climate change journalistically, with insights from both environmental communication, climate psychologies and perspectives on social change
• can convey climate change journalistically as a dimension to a host of different climate change stories
• can find new and innovative ways to approach global climate change

General competence

The student

• is able to understand the basics of global climate change, with the help of knowledge from both the natural, social and human sciences.
• is well qualified to approach climate change as a justice issue, for example between the North and South, the developed and the developing world
• is well qualified to discuss ethical questions in both science and journalism
• has acquired journalistic skills of combining observations of different experiences of climate change with broader, theoretical perspectives

• Active participation in classes and discussions (minimum 80% attendance).
• Individual presentation of one's own culture with reference to educational challenges.

Course requirements are evaluated as pass/fail. The right to take the exam depends on the successful completion of coursework requirements. Compulsory coursework assignments that are not completed by the agreed deadline will not be accepted, and the student loses their right to take the exam. Students are themselves responsible for keeping informed about relevant deadlines. In cases of illness or other inconveniences, students must make an appointment with their tutors for an extension, within the deadline for the coursework. Coursework that has been handed in at the right time but that has not been accepted, will be given a new deadline. In cases where coursework is handed in on time but is not accepted, students are entitled to maximum two new attempts. Students who have lost their right to take the exam because of unmet coursework requirements, must get in touch with their tutors to organise completing the coursework requirement the following term/study year.

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1. Paper on a topic addressed in the course, of 2000 Words +/- 10% (25% of the final grade).

2. Semester paper, of 4500 words +/- 10% , (75% of the final grade).

The grades in the two units are used in the calculation of the aggregate grade for this course. The final

certificate of 20 ECTS will be awarded upon the completion of the above mentioned requirements and

exams.

Re-examination

If a student fails the exam or is absent at the time of the exam for a valid reason, the student is entitled to resit the exam the following semester. The resit exam will be organised in the same manner as the ordinary exam. The students are themselves responsible for registering for the resit by the given deadline.

All examination support materials are permitted. However, sources must be stated in accordance with applicable rules for source References.

Grading will be in accordance with the ECTS grading scale, with A-E as pass grades and F as a fail grade. The criteria for the different grades will be presented to the students at the beginning of the course.

Part 1) Paper is reviewed and graded by two internal examiners.

Part 2) Semester paper is reviewed and graded by internal and external examiner.

The language of all teaching and supervision is English, and the students should therefore have a working knowledge of both spoken and written English.

Target Group

Target group is international exchange students at Faculty of Education and International Studies from preschool and primary school teacher education institutions.

Students must be prepared to participate in various outdoor activities.

The course is designed to offer a full-time study-program in English for students of Early Childhood and Primary School Teacher Education. The period of study will be for 3 months. The students may decide to prolong their length of the stay from 3 to 4 months after arrival. The language of all teaching and supervision is English, and the students should therefore have a working knowledge of both spoken and written English.

Admission

Admission as an international student at Faculty of Education and International Studies. Students from other academic areas may also be accepted. Students must have completed at least one year of their undergraduate degree studies at their home institution in order to be accepted.