University of Oslo

Published in 1845, Friedrich Engels’s book DIE LAGE DER ARBEITENDEN KLASSE IN ENGLAND (THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS IN ENGLAND) describes how industrialization affected the lives of working people, based in part on his encounters with them at a Manchester cotton mill. Regarding industrial labor as both a consequence of an ongoing class struggle and the sparkplug for the revolution that would end it one day, Engels told a story of industrial work as a catalyst for political change that was going to happen the world over, one nation at a time. Fast forward a good hundred and fifty years, and the perspective on work and labor shifted. Industrial wage labor has moved in large parts to the Global South and is less clearly distinguishable from unfree labor. Unemployment has arisen as a major issue in wealthy countries. New forms of work have attracted scholarly attention, from domestic, reproductive, and service labor (partly unpaid and often done by women) to creative work, where self-realization is considered as much a reward as financial compensation. Fairness of pay and conditions is still an important concern, but it has become more difficult to mobilize for it, as dwindling union membership and the decline of Labor parties indicate. The course discusses topics including major trends and issues in the history of work and labor in the West since the mid-nineteenth century, and historiographical arguments.

The course examines main points of development in the Anglo-American short story tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries, drawing on central concepts from short fiction theory from Edgar Allan Poe to contemporary theorists. Beyond the much debated question of generic definition, the course takes a variety of approaches to the short story, including: considering the short story in literary history; the impact of modernism and impressionism; the postcolonial short story; varieties of style and narrative technique; and the representation of class, race, ethnicity, and gender in the short story.

Surveillance is an ever-expanding practice, that criminologists need to be equipped to address and assess. This course explores the many dimensions of surveillance in the management of populations, including crime control. It walks through key surveillance theories, moving from classic models to more recent understandings that take into account new surveillance technologies, as well as practices of resistance to surveillance. Core themes include the relation between the surveillant and the surveilled; different forms of surveillance in many contexts, as well as the actors and tools involved; surveillance as crime control and how it influences police work; and the societal effects and the politics of surveillance. Each session combines theoretical concepts and relevant empirical case studies of surveillance practices and considers readings from criminology, critical security studies, media studies, as well as science and technology studies.

Why and how do resource use and other human footprints generate international governance challenges – and in what ways does the globalization of the world economy affect such challenges? How important are international institutions for the management of the world's petroleum resources? What is meant by ‘regime effectiveness’ – and what conditions can explain success or failure in efforts to establish or strengthen international cooperative arrangements on natural resources and the environment? This course offers an introduction to important characteristics of international environmental and resource politics and provides tools for explaining differences in international negotiation processes and their outputs, outcomes and impacts. The roles and significance of international institutions are central, with special attention to processes of formation, change and interplay as well as various conditions that can affect their operation and effectiveness. The course provides insight into the roles transnational companies and environmental organizations play in international environmental and resource negotiations and how the positions and influences of main actors such as the USA, the EU, and China are affected by domestic political and economic conditions. The course demonstrates how broader scholarly debates, like those between realists, liberalists, and constructivists, can illuminate processes and outcomes in international environmental and resource politics.

The course provides a basic introduction to sociological studies of legal and illegal drug use. Readings emphasize classics such as Goffman, Becker, Collins, Bourdieu, and Latour, and show how these theories have been integrated in contemporary empirical research, in Norway and internationally. Topics include detailed studies of particular drugs (e.g. cannabis, MDMA, heroin, alcohol, tobacco) as well as studies of the formal and informal control of drug use and different treatment practices. It also discusses the phenomenological and philosophical background of concepts such as intoxication and addiction.

This course discusses how innovations and transitions are embedded in larger processes of social and geographical change. The first module outlines the need for deep seated sustainability transitions in a context of accelerating global climate and environmental change. Theories on sustainability transitions and innovation are presented. A distinction between traditional, social and sustainable innovations is introduced. The Multi-Level-Perspective, which analyzes how niche innovations sometimes scale up and transforms larger sectors in the economy, is presented together with perspectives on power and geography. The second module discusses the role of wind energy in sustainability transitions. The history and current status of wind technology is emphasized. The preconditions and challenges connected with a further upscaling of wind energy are highlighted. The third module discusses the role of solar energy. Current institutional and policy potentials and barriers in the Global South and North towards a further upscaling of solar energy are discussed. The fourth module presents and discusses the role of a more circular economy as part of sustainability transitions.

This course is an introduction to the scientific study of language sounds from a common language and individual language point of view. Students must acquire basic knowledge of phonetic analysis of speech sounds, with emphasis on articulatory and acoustic analysis. The course covers the transcription system of The International Phonetic Association (IPA) and the acoustic analysis program PRAAT. The course discusses basic phonological theory, and uses this in phonological analysis. Emphasis is placed on practical skills in both phonetics and phonology. The course recommends students have taken a previous course in linguistics as a prerequisite.