Emmy Carlsson Evald book discussion

The Nordic Book Club will host a virtual discussion of "Power, Passion, and Faith," a biography of Emmy Evald written by her great-granddaughter, Sharon Wyman.

The club is sponsored by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana.

"Suffragist, social equity advocate, church leader, friend of feminist luminaries Susan B. Anthony and Jane Addams, Emmy Carlsson Evald tore through her four decades of life like a whirlwind — and changed the world," said Dr. Ann Boaden, retired Augustana professor of English. "In this brisk new biography, Wyman draws on unpublished family papers as well as historical documents to present Emmy as both private and public person.  

"Wyman’s style, clear, energetic, richly detailed, aptly reflects her great-grandmother. Her story of triumph and sorrow will engage readers new to Emmy and long-time fans alike. It’s a valuable contribution not only to Swedish-American scholarship and the history of the Augustana Lutheran Synod, but to feminist studies as well."

Augustana College renamed Carlsson Hall dormitory as Emmy Carlsson Evald when the building was renovated and re-opened as an academic building in 2008. 

Evald was critical to the hall's construction in 1928. When the need to provide housing for female students was recognized in the early 1920s, her Augustana Women's Missionary Society raised most of the money to build what first was known as the Woman's Building.