HHIK00833U HIS 83. Greenland in the new Arctic

Område B: akademisk skriftlighed med fokus på kildeanalyse [2019-ordningen]
Historisk kerneområde 2: Akademisk skriftlighed med fokus på kildeanalyse [2015-ordningen]
Historisk tilvalgsområde 1 [2019-ordningen [kun for studerende med grundfag i Historie]]
HIS 83. Greenland in the new Arctic
In this course, we focus on the process of decolonization in Greenland after WWII. Decolonization, demarcated politically by the amendment of Greenland’s colonial status in 1953 (and integration into the Danish Realm), prompted the design and implementation of comprehensive improvement schemes (known as G-50 and G-60). Today the process of decolonization is a politically charged topic tied to contemporary agendas such as Greenland’s future relationship with Denmark, and severe social problems in Greenland. Moreover, climate change in the Arctic region has enhanced Greenland’s geopolitical importance, and motivated the superpowers of the world to focus their attention on resource extraction and military activities in the country. Donald Trump’s remarks concerning a purchase of Greenland, the Chinese eagerness to invest in Greenland’s infrastructure, Russia’s military activities in the Arctic, and finally the US-administration’s efforts to reestablish diplomatic representation in Greenland are the strongest indications of these tendencies.

We will analyze the historical roots of the somewhat hectic present day situation in which Greenland appears to reemerge in a new Arctic (frontier), focusing specifically on:

1/
The historical roots of Greenland’s contemporary situation and the challenges facing the Danish Realm
2/
Postcolonial perspectives on decolonization and modernization efforts in Greenland
3/
Understandings of the consequences of climate change in the Arctic region
4/
Understandings of the ways in which shifts in the geopolitical balance are altering Greenland’s situation

Course objectives (clarification of some of the objectives stipulated in the curriculum): 
After the course students will be able to:
• present the main positions in these discussions
• analyze and understand its central terms
• analyze and understand the crucial events
• present the central concepts used in the analyses of decolonization and modernization in Greenland
• understand, discuss and engage critically with research and opinions pertaining to decolonization in Greenland