University of Akureyri

The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Akureyri offers a three year programme leading to a B.A. degree in Modern Studies.

What is Modern Studies?
The term modern studies refers to an inter-disciplinary branch in the field of humanities. It is a well known subject of study abroad but the University of Akureyri is the only university in Iceland that offers a programme of this type. The studies explore the origins of the present and the revolutionary changes that have ensued. The studies are inter-disciplinary because they constitute a multi lateral approach to the present, e.g. from the point of view of philosophy, history, literature and various branches of the social sciences. The courses are taught by permanent teachers of the faculty or temporary teachers, foreign and Icelandic, who are specialists in their respective fields. A part of the teaching is conducted in English.

What is the Meaning of Modernity
Modernity is the term relating to the world of ideas, ways of life and the social structure that traces its beginnings to western countries in the early half of the 18th century. Max Weber described the onset of modernity as a desecration of the world, which refers to scientifically founded logic as a dominant feature in the daily life of man in lieu of religion and superstition. It implies that society, administration and culture are increasingly subject to logical order thus blazing the trail for progress of human rights, democracy and freedom of the individual. This progress is accompanied by an uprooting and isolation of the individual, aimlessness in a desecrated world and new forms of discrimination and injustice. The attractions of urban life are powerful, irrespective of whether we are dealing with Brazil, China or Iceland, but the city is one of the most significant symbols of the present or modernity. Modernity continues undaunted with all its contradictions that are reflected e.g. clearly in growing life expectancy on the one hand and genocide on the other.

Why Modern Studies?

• Modern studies as a subject is a promising option for those who want to acquire a broadly founded education in the humanities.
• Modern studies are well suited to the needs of those who want to complete parts of their study at universities abroad. The first year courses are a good preparation for study abroad and various subjects of study can be fitted into the sundry humanities and social science courses for the B.A. degree in modern studies at the University of Akureyri.
• Modern studies are well suited to the requirements of those wanting to take their major or minor subjects of study in either the humanities or social sciences at the University of Iceland or at cooperating universities abroad.

Five Fields of Emphasis in Modern Studies
Students who pursue a 180 ECTS B.A. degree in Modern Studies select their own fields of emphasis (see further information below) that make studies quite flexible and in effect individually oriented. The electives are most of them taught within the Faculty of Social Sciences, but some of them in the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Education and the School of Business and Science

Study Structure
Studies toward a 180 ECTS B.A. degree in Modern Studies are structured in the following way: During the first year of study, students take various basic courses, such as Practical Skills for the Social Sciences and the Humanities, History of Ideas, Industrialization and Globalization, Critical Analysis of Information, Introduction to Journalism and Media Studies, Introduction to Social Studies, Deconstructing the 20th Century, and Ethics and Moral Controversies. In the 2nd and 3rd year students take courses such as Individualism and nationatlity, The Concept of Modernity, Gender Studies and The Fourth Estate I and II, and Icelandic Media I, while attending seminars in modern studies, one during each semester, where specialized issues are delved into such as the ideal of progress of the present, nationality and national consciousness, cities and urbanization, the holocaust, utopias, the concept of freedom, development of individual consciousness, alleged conflicts of different cultural worlds, acts of terrorism and ethnic cleansing. In the 2nd and 3rd year students increasingly assume responsibility for their own studies by selecting courses in two out of six fields of emphasis. Studies finish with a 12 ECTS B.A. thesis.

Modern Studies as a 180 ECTS Major Subject

Compulsory Courses (126 ECTS) 

Modern Studies as a 120 ECTS Major Subject

Compulsory Courses (108 ECTS)

Modern Studies as a 60 ECTS Minor Subject

In order to receive a minor (60 ECTS) in modern studies, students must complete 10 of the following 15 courses:

On Completion of Studies

The B.A. degree in modern studies constitutes a sound basis for advanced studies in various subjects of humanities and social sciences. It makes for a broader outlook on life, and an improved understanding of the environment, critical thinking and ability to cope with complicated tasks. The studies provide in other words a sound general education that is desirable for employment of various kinds, and the employer may be the state or municipalities, institutes, associations or private corporations.