INR4210: International Relations of Scandinavia and the Arctic

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

Best Way to Contact Me: Canvas Inbox
Office Hours: By Appointment
Website: Dr. Lukas K. Danner

Course Description and Purpose

Course Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Understand and compare Scandinavian contemporary foreign policies.
2. Discuss the basic common history of Scandinavian nations.
3. Analyze current common transnational issues faced by the Nordic states and the role the EU, NATO, Nordic Council, and Arctic Council play therein.
4. Discuss topics directly related to important questions of Arctic affairs.
5. Evaluate the rising importance of the Arctic in global politics.
6. Analyze current Scandinavian and Arctic international relations through a theoretical lens.
7. Use college-level research and writing skills when formulating complex arguments.

Course Awards

Important Information

Before starting this course, please review the following pages:

• Policies
• Netiquette
• Technical Requirements and Skills
• Accessibility and Accommodation
• Panthers Care & Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
• Academic Misconduct Statement
• Inclusivity Statement

Additional Course Policies

1. All times and deadlines are given in the United States Eastern Time (ET). Also, please note the Daylight Savings Time change on March 14, 2021. This course will use Eastern Standard Time (EST) until March 13, 2021, and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) starting from March 14, 2021.
2. The FIU Faculty Senate decided to shorten the Spring 2021 semester by one week and instead have no Spring Break allotted in Spring 2021.
3. No incompletes are given.
4. No make-up opportunities are given.
5. For discussion arenas, weekly news video journal briefs, and co-curricular activity report: Late submissions will result in point penalties according to this rule: one day late = -10 %, two days late = -20 %, three days late = -30 %, etc.
6. For online reading & concept challenges in Respondus LockDown Browser: reading & concept challenges will be open for one week. Once the reading & concept challenge closes at the deadline, it will not be re-opened for you and it will irrevocably count as a zero if you did not take it before the deadline.
7. Copying from the textbook or cutting and pasting sections from websites or other reference materials or presenting someone else’s ideas as your own is plagiarism and will not be tolerated and will result in zero (0) points for that assignment. Please review the FIU Plagiarism Prevention Guide.  In addition, all work submitted must be original for this class.
8. This class will utilize the Turnitin originality software—integrated with the LMS.
9. Papers that are not properly cited will be issued a zero. 
10. If the instructor is unable to open an attachment, it must be resubmitted within 48 hours or the assignment will be issued a zero.
11. Always check the uploaded attachment is correct. After the deadline passes, the content submitted will be used for grading.
12. Medical emergencies can generally not count as excuses for not submitting assignments, taking tests or posting essays/replies. This is because the assessments (whether they be discussion arena posts, online reading & concept challenges, or written assignments) are open for several days, sometimes weeks each and therefore you will have much leeway in deciding when to take a reading & concept challenge, or submit an assignment. The only exception would be a truly grave medical emergency/accident in which you are hospitalized for several days or weeks. In such a case, obtain written documentation and send a scan to the instructor.
13. Textbooks and the purchase thereof are the student’s responsibility. Some readings will be offered as a download online. Any readings from the assigned textbooks will not be made available for download.
14. There is no extra credit in this class.
15. Appointments: I welcome students to contact me by email with questions.
16. The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus should the need arise.

Lecture Videos

This class will have pre-recorded lectures found in the module section. 

Course Prerequisites

Proctored Exam Policy

This course does not require proctored exams.

Textbook and Course Materials

 

Expectations of this Course

This is an online course, which means most of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same for a traditional course. In fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills which can make these courses more demanding for some students.

Students are expected to:

• Review the Getting Started information located in the course content
• Introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self-introduction in the appropriate discussion forum
• Take the practice quiz to ensure that your computer is compatible with Canvas
• Interact online with instructor(s) and peers
• Review and follow the course calendar
• Log in to the course several times per week
• Respond to discussion arenas by the corresponding deadline
• Respond to emails within three days
• Submit assignments by the corresponding deadline

The instructor will:

• Log in to the course several times per week
• Respond to discussion arenas within four days
• Respond to emails within 1 business day
• Grade assignments within four days of the assignment deadline

Course Communication

Communication in this course will take place via the Canvas Conversations Inbox. The instructor will respond to messages within one business day.

Visit our writing resources page for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills.

Discussion Arenas

Keep in mind that your discussion arena postings will likely be seen by other members of the course. Care should be taken when determining what to post.

The first part of this assignment is posting your own response to each quest and corresponding reading on Canvas’s “Discussion Arena.” Questions that you may respond to after reading are going to be provided in the heading of the discussion arena. The discussion arena that corresponds to each quest will be opened shortly after the quest becomes available. Your response should be between 300 and 350 words long, be structured like an essay, and ideally show reference to the studied quest and readings. At the end of your essay, please provide a question for further discussion that your classmates may reply to in the second part of this assignment. This first part of the assignment is graded with a rubric.

The second part of this assignment is reading and replying to the discussion posts of two of your peers. So after you have posted your own, original response in the first part of the assignment (reading others’ discussion posts is disabled until you post your own), you need to reply to, at least, two (2) discussion posts of your classmates: This will contribute to the discussion character of this task. This second part of the assignment is graded and included in the rubric.

This assignment corresponds to our quests in the course content and the assigned reading to it. We may use Turnitin to check the originality of your posted essay. If you borrow material, identify the sources via proper citation. Your essay post must answer the question(s) provided to guide you in this assignment. Your posts will be graded in the order that they are submitted. Opinions and examples are valuable to your posts but you need to show that you have read the assigned reading and class quest.

Items to consider when writing your discussion:

• Relevance to the assigned material: the posted ideas indicate that the student has read the assigned material.
• Clarity and coherence.
• Critical thinking: there is evidence that the student has adequately analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated the assigned material.
• Your discussion includes a question for further discussion on the topic. The posting articulates a question for discussion that pertains to the assigned material.
• Spelling, grammar: the posting must meet university-level standards of spelling and grammar.
• Length: the initial posting for each discussion post essay must be between 300 and 350 words.
• Guidelines: First submit your essay (ca. 300 words), then separately submit your discussion question, and then proceed to look at your peers' posts and reply to at least two different peers’ questions/react to their essay.
• Please note: You will not be able to see what your peers have posted prior to submitting your initial post (essay). This is to ensure originality and no copy-paste/filibustering mentality. Should your first post be an empty post (to circumvent this initial blocking view of others’ posts), it will count as zero (0) points.
• Late submission is subject to the deduction policy specified above under “Policies.”

The instructor will respond to and grade discussion arenas within four days of the deadline.

Rubric:

• Student clearly and coherently answers the question posted (1 point)
• Student posts a question for further discussion (1 point)
• Student includes theoretical concepts for discussion (2 points)
• Student includes explanations on the application of the concepts (4 points)
• Student uses University-level standards for spelling and grammar and professional demeanor (1 point)
• Student answers to two different peers’ discussion questions with replies (1 point)

Assessments

There will be TWO ONLINE READING & CONCEPT CHALLENGES (with Respondus Lockdown Browser).

Assessment Expectations:

• Complete the two online reading & concept challenges (First Midterm & Second Midterm) within this course
• Relevant material for reading & concept challenges are PowerPoints, Lectures, and—first and foremost—assigned required readings. Readings which are merely recommended are not directly relevant as reading & concept challenge material—unless they have been mentioned, summarized or introduced via lectures or quests, for example (nevertheless, you do not have to read them but just know what was mentioned about them, if they came up in lectures/quests). The first and second midterms will also contain questions on the geography of Scandinavia and the Arctic (important cities, provinces, bodies of water, islands, etc.).
• The reading & concept challenges are cumulative, meaning that they cover all material previously learned, though they have a focus on the material learned after the last test.
• Reading & concept challenges will consist of a combination of map (geography) questions, true-false questions, multiple-choice questions, and short-answer questions.
• The assessment duration is 60 minutes for the first midterm and 60 minutes for the second midterm.
• If you access the reading & concept challenge last minute then you will not receive the full amount of time on the challenge. Therefore, it is recommended to take the reading & concept challenge the latest two hours before the deadline. Please note that the assessment will close permanently after the deadline, so starting it late is not possible.
• Result details:
  • Students will be able to see their results after the availability period has ended (i.e. all of the questions and answers).
• The expected turn-around time for grades on online reading & concept challenges is immediately after the submission deadline.

Respondus Lockdown Browser

• Review the Respondus LockDown Browser Instructions on how to install, access your assessments and view your grades.
• After installing the browser, please take the Practice Quiz to familiarize yourself with the testing environment and to ensure that you have downloaded the Respondus Lockdown Browser correctly.

Co-Curricular Activity Report

Students will be required to attend a co-curricular activity or event, visit a museum exhibition, or watch a movie or documentary with relevance to Scandinavian and/or Arctic international relations during the course of the semester, but no later than April 10. The instructor will announce eligible activities for this assignment to students on a regular basis—the choice is the student’s what in particular they would like to undertake. Whichever co-curricular activity is undertaken, a three and a half to four (3.5 - 4) page (1,000 - 1,200 words) report is required to be written by the student describing their co-curricular experience (summary), how they feel about it (personal opinion), and how it relates to this class (academic relevance). Submission is within one week of attending the co-curricular event, however, no later than the November 16th deadline (whichever comes first), through a Turnitin Dropbox. This assignment will count for ten (10) points of your class grade of 100 points.

• The co-curricular activity report cannot exceed 1,200 words. (Over 1,200 words would be deductions from the guideline rubric; the paper should not have less than 1,000 words but under no circumstances more than 1,200 words). The page count is secondary—word count determines whether this requirement of 1,000 to 1,200 words is met, but you should expect a paper length about 3.5 - 4 page
• Format: Normal margins, 12 pt Times New Roman (or Palatino Linotype) font, double spacing, no extra spaces between paragraphs.
• Quotations: Likely you will not need quotation as you are using your own words to paraphrase an experience. If you do want to quote, please stick with one quotation type, choose the one you feel most comfortable with/you are used to, i.e., either MLA, or APA, or Chicago, or Turabian—but stick with it/be consistent.
• Activity Choice: The co-curricular activity has to do either with a topic to do with Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark--including Greenland and the Faroes) and/or Arctic international relations. 
• Final Report: The co-curricular activity paper is due through the Turnitin dropbox on the Modules section of Canvas. This means it will be checked whether it is original in terms of compared to the world-wide-web, scholarly outlets, and reviews submitted with Turnitin—but also compared to your peers in this class. This is an individual assignment and you must work on it by yourself, i.e., it cannot be identical or similar to another student’s submitted paper.
• Late submission is subject to the deduction policy specified above under “Policies/ Additional Course Policies.” However, 10 days after the initial deadline submission will close permanently and no further late submission will be possible after that date.
• Grading timeframe is about one week after the submission deadline.
• Review the detailed Turnitin instructions on how to submit your assignments and how to review the Grademark comments (feedback) from your professor.

Final Research Paper Challenge

This is the written assignment which consists out of a topic submission, a research proposal submission, and a final research paper submission and—taken together—will determine a very large part of your grade, i.e., 20 points (5 points for the research proposal, 15 points for the final research paper). Students are expected to write a research paper on a topic of their choice related to Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark--including Greenland and the Faroes) and/or Arctic international relations, which should have a clear research question, demonstrate research and a critical analysis based on the literature and knowledge gained throughout the course.

• The final research paper cannot exceed 3,500 words. (Over a 3,500 words would be deductions from the guideline rubric; for some students, the challenge is getting to 3,500 words, for others keeping it to 3,500 words—the paper should not have less than 3,000 words but under no circumstances more than 3,500 words). The page count is secondary—word count determines whether this requirement of 3,000 to 3,500 words is met, but you should expect a paper length about 10-12 pages.
• Format: Normal margins, 12 pt Times New Roman (or Palatino Linotype) font, double spacing, no extra spaces between paragraphs.
• Quotations: Stick with one quotation type, choose the one you feel most comfortable with/you are used to, i.e., either MLA, or APA, or Chicago, or Turabian—but stick with it/be consistent.
• Topics: The topic has to do either with a topic to do with Scandinavian and/or Arctic international relations.
• Submit Your Choice of Final Research Paper Topic via Assignment Dropbox by the due date (a title for your topic and one simple sentence to explain is enough for me to give feedback whether it is a viable, relevant topic).
• Here are some recommendations for your paper research process:
  • It is advisable to choose a comparative topic with two (max. three) foreign policies of Scandinavian countries for your paper research. The paper also writes itself more easily, if you have sections describing the foreign policies in two countries and then go on to compare them in a third part. If you wish to focus on one country and you are certain you can write ten to twelve pages on the subject without comparing it to a similar dynamic in another country, you are welcome to focus on just one country, too.
  • Research a variety of credible sources (Green library catalogue: books & journals, electronic journals accessible through the library website, careful online search: quality newspapers (create a news alert with New York Times, political think tanks, official governmental documents) and supply at least five sources
  • To build a good structure, start with a research question which you try to answer. Then provide an introduction, an analytical main part (Who? What? When? Why? What could be done?), and a conclusion with your ‘expert’ opinion.
  • Conduct a grammar check before submission (+ no repetitions; analytical language)
• Research Proposal/Paper Outline: Before you submit and work on your 10-12-page final research paper, you are required to submit a two- to three-page research proposal/paper outline, containing three (3) bibliographical sources that are annotated with explanatory notes (which basically means that you summarize the source in question in a few sentences). This research proposal/paper outline is worth 10 points. I will check-in with you several times as the submission due date approaches and I recommend for you to contact me via email about your topic, or set up an office hour appointment.
• For creating the research proposal/paper outline: Consider which country's/ies' foreign policy/ies and which contemporary Arctic international relations-related topic is of interest to you. Papers may deal with with terrorism, immigration, parties' foreign policy platforms in Scandinavia, the impact of the Coronavirus-crisis, Scandinavia's role in the world, the impact of the Syrian migration crisis in Scandinavia, the impact of climate change in the Arctic, future Arctic opportunities, etc. If opting for a comparative approach, make sure to compare two, max. three countries. You will get feedback from me on your proposal/outline shortly after you hand it in (so if you want feedback earlier, also submit this assignment accordingly ahead of the deadline). Afterward, you may start writing and research then, taking the feedback into account.
• The ideal three-page research proposal/paper outline will look like this: Page 1 is a table of contents where you present the anticipated outline of your 10-12 page final paper (1. Introduction 2. Main part: [your chosen topic] 2.1 ... 2.2 ... 2.2.1 ... etc.); Page 2 is a one-page research proposal which explains the topic, countries chosen, research question, approach, and anticipated findings a little bit more in-depth (compared to the topic submission); Page 3 is the annotated bibliography with three sources. An annotated bibliography is basically a list of three sources (in this case) and after each of those sources, you write about three to five sentences/a paragraph on the content of the source. Here is a link to a website explaining more about annotated bibliographies: Purdue Website. This research proposal is meant to ensure that you are on track for the final research paper and have a concrete plan with some initial research and source search completed. Also, this will provide you with further feedback.
• Final Paper: The final research paper is due through the Turnitin dropbox on the Modules section of Canvas. This means it will be checked whether it is original in terms of compared to the world-wide-web, scholarly outlets, and reviews submitted with Turnitin—but also compared to your peers in this class. This is an individual assignment and you must work on it by yourself, i.e., it cannot be identical or similar to another student’s submitted research paper.
• Late submission is subject to the deduction policy specified above under “Policies.” However, 10 days after the initial deadline submission will close permanently and no further late submission will be possible after that date.
• Grading timeframe is about one week after the submission deadline.
• Review the detailed How to submit a Turnitin Assignment  and how to review the comments (feedback) from your professor.
• View the rubric within the Research Paper dropbox.

Important Dates and Deadlines

Discussion Arena Posts:

• January 21, 2021 (Thursday) - First discussion arena, essay & discussion question due by 11:59pm ET.
• January 25, 2021 (Monday) – First discussion arena, two participation replies due by 11:59pm ET.
• February 18, 2021 (Thursday) - Second discussion arena, essay & discussion question due by 11:59pm ET.
• February 22, 2021 (Monday) – Second discussion arena, two participation replies due by 11:59pm ET.
• March 25, 2021 (Thursday) – Third discussion arena, essay & discussion question due by 11:59pm EDT.
  • (Daylight Savings Time; make sure you have changed your clocks, or to note the changed time difference if you are taking this course remotely from a country without DST).
• March 29, 2021 (Monday) – Third discussion arena, two participation replies due by 11:59pm EDT
• April 22, 2021 (Thursday) – Fourth discussion arena, essay & discussion question due by 11:59pm EDT.
  
• April 26, 2021 (Monday) – Fourth discussion arena, two participation replies due by 11:59pm EDT.

Reading & Concept Challenges:

• March 1, 2021 - First online reading & concept challenge (First Midterm) due by 11:59pm EST (opens February 23, 2021, 0:00am EST).
• April 12, 2021 - Second online reading & concept challenge (Second Midterm) due by 11:59pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time; make sure you have changed your clocks, or to note the changed time difference if you are taking this course remotely from a country without DST) (opens April 6, 2021, 0:00am EDT).

Assignments:

• February 8, 2021 - Topic Choice for Research Paper due by 11:59pm EST.
• March 8, 2021 - Research Paper Proposal due by 11:59pm EST.
• March 22, 2021 - Co-Curricular Activity Report due by 11:59pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time; make sure you have changed your clocks, or to note the changed time difference if you are taking this course remotely from a country without DST).
• April 19, 2021 - Final Research Paper due by 11:59pm EDT.

Weekly News Video Journal Entries:

• January 19, 2021 (Tuesday) - First news journal entry by 11:59pm EST (Tuesday due to MLK Holiday on Monday; otherwise always due on Mondays).
• January 25, 2021 (Monday) - Second news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• February 1, 2021 (Monday) - Third news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• February 8, 2021 (Monday) - Fourth news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• February 15, 2021 (Monday) - Fifth news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• February 22, 2021 (Monday) - Sixth news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• March 1, 2021 (Monday) – Seventh news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• March 8, 2021 (Monday) – Eighth news journal entry by 11:59pm EST.
• March 15, 2021 (Monday) - Ninth news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT (Daylight Savings Time; make sure you have changed your clocks, or to note the changed time difference if you are taking this course remotely from a country without DST).
• March 22, 2021 (Monday) – Tenth news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT.
• March 29, 2021 (Monday) – Eleventh news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT.
• April 5, 2021 (Monday) – Twelfth news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT.
• April 12, 2021 (Monday) – Thirteenth news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT.
• April 19, 2021 (Monday) – Fourteenth news journal entry by 11:59pm EDT.

University Deadlines:

• January 11, 2021 – Classes begin
• January 18, 2021 – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
• January 19, 2021 – Add/Drop period ends
• March 22, 2021 – Last Day to Drop Course with a DR grade
• April 19 - April 24, 2021 – Finals’ Week
• April 24, 2021 – Last day of Classes and Exams
• April 29, 2021 – Grades available on my.fiu.edu
• ***No Spring Break Holiday in Spring 2021 due to COVID-19***

Grading