Course description
Soil and societies are inextricably linked. Food production today contributes to severe ecosystem degradation, loss of biodiversity and to one third of all greenhouse gases. One third of the world’s soils are already moderately to severely degraded – ironically, due to the way we grow our food. Industrialized agriculture based on monocropping, intensive tillage and excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers is completely dependent on fossil fuels. Agricultural policies based on a “get big or get out” mentality has resulted in the erosion of both soil and local communities. Furthermore, entire populations eat food laced with pesticide residues or that lack essential minerals – the effects of which are still unknown.
However, agriculture holds a unique advantage to the interconnected challenges facing societies. It is one of the only industries that can shift from an energy system based on fossil fuels to an energy system based on photosynthesis, which would also regenerate the soil. In this course we will engage with the process of agricultural transformations at local and global scales both empirically and conceptually, highlighting how social sciences expose the sociopolitical structures that shape landscapes and livelihoods, and steer agrarian science and innovation.
Against this backdrop the course will address questions such as:
- What are the relationships between the global food system, soil health, and societal health?
- How has the industrialization and financialization of the food system has affected communities – both human, animal, and microbial?
- What are the socio-political structures and paradigms that shape landscapes, livelihoods, and steer agrarian science and innovation?
- What role do social sciences play in co-creating research on alternative agricultural systems?
- What are the challenges to interdisciplinary research in the field of agricultural transitions?
SUM is organizing this course in cooperation with the Norwegian Researcher School in Environmental Humanities (NoRS-EH).
Learning outcomes
Students will:
- Obtain a nuanced understanding of the links between the global food system, soil degradation and the implication for societies, both empirically and theoretically;
- Be well acquainted with the major theoretical and empirical approaches to researching agricultural transition;
- Gain practical tools for interdisciplinary research in the field of agriculture;
- Engage in critical discussion, become acquainted with the work of others connected to soil and societal health, and build networks within their chosen field of research.
Lecturers
- Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Emeritus Professor at Wageningen University and Adjunct Professor in the College of Humanities and Development Studies
- Anna Krzywoszynska, Associate Professor at the University of Oulu
- Nina Isabella Moeller, Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark
Objectives and Focus
The course will enable doctoral students to better understand key concepts, debates and perspectives on agricultural transformations in the 21st century, based on up-to-date literature – and on recent developments ‘on the ground’.
In addition to lectures, the course will allow those conducting Ph.D. research to present their own work and comment on that of others, guided by senior experienced academics who are themselves working in this field.
Course capacity: 18 students
Language of instruction: English
Syllabus: Approx. 1000 pages of compulsory readings.
Application
Who may apply?
The interdisciplinary nature of the course will be most suitable for doctoral students engaging with different disciplines within the social sciences – such as anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, and development studies.
Doctoral students will be prioritised, although other applicants may be considered only if space permits.
Funding
The course is free.
Lunches will be provided.
The organisers have some funds available to cover the cost of accommodation (meals not included) for selected students from outside Norway. Similarly, there is funding available for a limited number of travel scholarships for selected students. Please consult point 3 under 'Application procedures'.
Application procedures
Interested students should state their motivation and upload the following via the Application Form which must include:
- A cover letter signed by your Ph.D. supervisor or another person at your institution/workplace, stating your academic background and academic degree(s) held, your research interests and current research projects (if any), including estimated date of submission of doctoral thesis.
- CV
- Students from outside Norway may apply for a modest travel scholarship and/or accommodation support, by uploading a separate document along with their course application. If you wish to apply for a travel scholarship, please also attach a budget based on minimum cost travel. All students enrolled in NoRS-EH are eligible to receive funding for travel and accommodation.
Applications are invited from January 29th, 2024.
The application deadline is April 5th, 2024. Edit: we still have some open spots and are open to receiving applications.
Successful applicants who applied by the first deadline will be contacted by April 18th, 2024.
Preparations
A major purpose of the course is to provide participants with comments on their on-going work. It is therefore obligatory for all participants to submit a draft paper which will be discussed during the course.
The paper should be approximately 10 pages long (4000 – 5000 words, excluding the bibliography). You should submit a paragraph attached to the paper where you specify what you need feedback on, where you are in the process and what your ideas for publishing are.
Students who are admitted to the course must submit their draft paper electronically to the course secretariat by June 15th 2024.
This paper may be revised and resubmitted for evaluation and approval after the course (please consult the section on ‘Credits’ below).
All draft paper submissions will be posted in a member-only Teams group. All participants are required to read draft papers for their allocated working groups in advance and provide feedback during the course. (You may of course read others as you wish.)
Syllabus and programme
A complete reading list (with links to online publications, when possible) of approximately 1000 pages will be sent out by April 18th, 2024.
Participants are expected to read the syllabus in advance of the course.
Participants are expected to attend morning and afternoon sessions, and evening sessions when relevant, on all three days.
Credits
Course participants will receive a Course Certificate, recommending either 10 or 3 ECTS credits, but your own institution must approve credits for the course. We therefore recommend that you contact your Ph.D. coordinator about the issue of credits prior to your participation.
For a Certificate recommending 10 credits, a revised paper of 15 – 20 pages (6000 - 8000 words) must be submitted to the course organisers no later than 8 weeks after completion of the course, and the paper must be graded with ‘pass’. (The paper will be evaluated by a course lecturer and assessed within eight weeks after submission deadline).
3 ECTS credits will be recommended for those who participate in full but choose not to submit a revised paper for evaluation (or for those whose revised paper does not pass).
Application deadline
The application deadline is April 5th, 2024. (Edit: we still have some open spots and are open to receiving applications.)
Contact information
Should you have any practical enquiries, please do not hesitate to email the course secretariat at phd-course@sum.uio.no.
Check for updates
Please check for updated information at this web page regularily.