Swenson Center to celebrate 40th with symposium, dinner

Augustana’s Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center will host a symposium May 7 with rising scholars, an open house and dinner.

The day starts with the symposium “The Migration and Beyond: New Perspectives on Swedish-American Relations” from 1-4:30 p.m.The symposium features four younger scholars — two Americans and two Swedes — who will talk about the work they are doing and help the audience understand the new directions in the field of Swedish-American history and relations.  

After the symposium, guests are invited to an open house from 4:30-6 p.m., featuring an exhibit of library/archives collection highlights from the last 40 years.

The evening will feature a celebratory dinner at 6 p.m. in the Gävle Rooms in the Gerber Center. Dr. Doug Nelson, chair of the Swenson Center's advisory committee, will speak.

→ Schedule details and registration.

Speakers

Erika Jackson: "Vikings and Dumb Blondes: The Construction of American Discourse on Nordic and Scandinavian Whiteness." Jackson is an associate professor of history at Colorado Mesa University. 

​Kim Fahlstedt: "The Swedish Peril! Warner Oland and the Birth of Film Propaganda." Fahlstedt is a postdoctoral scholar at Stockholm University's Media Studies Department and a research affiliate for the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University.

Adam Hjorthén: "Beyond Family: Swedish-American Genealogy, Business, and Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century." Hjorthén, historian and writer, is a senior lecturer at the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University.

​Saniya Ghanoui: "An American Myth: Birth Control, Sex Education, and the Creation of the Swedish Sin." Ghanoui is the program director for Our Bodies Ourselves Today in the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University, Boston.

Dr. Dag Blanck, director of the Swenson Center, and director iof the Swedish Institute for North American Studies at Uppsala University, will give opening remarks and direct the symposium Q&A and closing remarks. 

The Swenson Center opened in September 1981, and has developed into the leading archives, library, and research institute for the study of Swedish-American history and relations.

The initial focus was on Swedish migration to North America and the experiences of Swedish immigrants and their descendants. Although this history still remains central, the center now has its mission to include broader aspects of Swedish-American relations.

The symposium is co-sponsored by Scandinavian Studies at Augustana College through a grant from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.