Don’t forget to apply for a Department Scholarship. More information is available on our Scholarships webpage. Contact uwscand@uw.edu if you have any questions.

The Scandinavian Program at Brigham Young University welcomes the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study to Salt Lake City for its 102nd annual meeting to be held from 3-5 May in the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown. More information is available at sass2012.byu.edu.

The second Nordic Translation Conference will take place on 4, 5, and 6 April 2013 at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England.

Please send proposals (250-400 words) for workshops by 1 June 2012 and for conference papers by 15 August 2012 to B.J. Epstein and Gudrun Rawoens by e-mail at conference@nordictranslation.net or by regular mail to:

B.J. Epstein
School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing
University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park,
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ

Along with the proposal, please include a brief biographical note. For ease of communication, English should be the primary conference language.

For the second year in a row the consortium of Norwegian colleges in the mid-west have welcomed a University of Washington student to join a weekend of engagement, speeches, discussions around the ideas, norms and principles of the Nobel Peace Prize. When Norway awards the prize each year all eyes are on Oslo, and many world leaders and global organizations are carefully considered in a highly competitive process coordinated by a team of Norwegians. For students in Norwegian studies, this event provides a rare opportunity to interact with previous winners of the prize and consider which themes are gaining greater emphasis (sustainability, poverty, human rights) in recent years. We are honored to be sending Maren Anderson Johnson to Augsburg College, sponsored by a gift to the Department of Scandinavian Studies administered by Chair, Jan Sjavik. Maren specializes in Norwegian national identity formation, she speaks and educates students in Norwegian, and is seeking a career in the field of Scandinavian Studies. A special thanks to Maureen Reed and Frankie Schackelford who were instrumental in including the University of Washington among a distinguished group of Norwegian colleges and allowing us to participate in this event, March 1-3, 2012 in Minneapolis.

Maren’s essay can be read here (pdf).

Attend the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum, March 1-4, 2012 in Minneapolis

Students are invited to submit a ten page essay to Professor Ingebritsen documenting the importance of the Nobel Peace Prize to Norway’s global role by January 15th. If your essay is selected, you will be invited to attend the 24th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

Attention peacemakers: The 24th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum will take place in Minneapolis on March 1-4, 2012. The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is a unique civic learning experience that brings Nobel Laureates, civic leaders, and scholars together with students and other citizens. As the Norwegian Nobel Institute’s only such program or academic affiliation outside of Norway, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum has a special mission: to inspire peacemaking by celebrating the work of Nobel Peace Prize winners. The event is open to the public and people of all ages are encouraged to attend. The Forum is coordinated by Augsburg College and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

The 2012 theme is “the price of peace.” More event information will be available over the next few months, but a number of dynamic speakers have already committed to speaking including:

F.W. de Klerk, former President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Sakumzi (“Saki”) Macozoma, business leader and former Member of the South African Parliament

Please visit the Forum Event page for more information.

Heather Short, a doctoral student in the Department of Scandinavian Studies, has been named the “Nadia Christensen Scholar in Nordic Studies” for 2011-2012. The award was made in recognition of Ms. Short’s outstanding academic performance and scholarly promise as judged by the department faculty.

Heather’s research centers on the connection between tradition and identity, and specifically how traditions inform and shape identity in contemporary society. Her current research is focused on two Norwegian clothing traditions: the folk-costume (bunad) and hand-knit clothing. The bunad is heavily steeped in tradition and a high degree of authenticity must be established for a variant to be recognized. While the folk costume is a piece of Norwegian nostalgia, it continues to be popular and worn by large numbers of people during 17. mai festivities, at Christmas, and other special occasions. Knitting patterns, on the other hand, while also traditional in nature, are not constrained by the same stringent claims of authenticity which characterizes the bunad tradition. Both types of clothing, however, continue to function as markers of Norwegian identity in contemporary society. In addition to the original, traditional patterns, both the bunad and knitting motifs have been used as inspiration for designers and continue to undergo processes of reinterpretation and evolution. Heather’s dissertation research will investigate the historical development of these two traditions, and explore their significance today by engaging with the discourses of identity in Norway as well as present results of field work among the crafts-people who are involved with both traditions.

The Nadia Christensen Endowment for Excellence in Nordic Studies was established through a generous gift from the Hognander Family Foundation of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in honor of Dr. Nadia Christensen, a doctoral graduate in Comparative Literature with an emphasis on Scandinavian languages and literature at the University of Washington. The purpose of the endowment is to recognize and reward outstanding academic performance and/or scholarship by an advanced graduate student in the Department of Scandinavian Studies.

Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer (1931 - ) won the Nobel Prize for Literature for 2011 today.

The Swedish Academy praised Tranströmer’s work for its “condensed, translucent images” through which “he gives us fresh access to reality.”

Dr. Ia Dubois, who teaches the Graduate Seminar on Nordic Poetry at the University of Washington, will speak this afternoon on NPR.

Autumn Quarter 2011 SCAND 427/GWSS 429
Scandinavian and Baltic Women Writers in English Translation
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30- 3:20 in SAV 138
Instructor: Prof. Lotta Gavel Adams - lotta@uw.edu
Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 – 10:20 in Raitt 305 Z

Course Content
This course will explore issues of power and gender, sexuality and nature in the works of Scandinavian and Baltic women writers from the 1890s to the present. We will examine how the position for women has evolved during the past 120 years from the advent of the Industrial Age in Scandinavia, when women did not have the right to vote, to the 21st century when women have gained control of almost half of the political power. We will examine how the literary texts by Scandinavian women writers reflect theses changes and how feminist issues and themes have developed – and remained the same – during the past 120 years.
We will look at the phenomenon of the powerful woman in a patriarchal world by applying Bourdieu’s microtheories of social power. We will also focus on is the role of nature and the environment in the fiction by these women writers. In recent decades, when the global warming has emerged as a serious threat to our earth, women writers have increasingly felt provoked to weave in environmental issues into their writing.

Learning Outcomes
1. to gain knowledge of the literary trends and feminist “waves” in the works of Scandinavian women writers, and to understand the works in their historical, social, and economic contexts,
2. to learn critical approaches to analysis and aesthetic responses to works of literature,
3. to improve skills for interpreting and writing about literature.

Required Reading
Books:
Lagerlöf, Selma. Gösta Berlings Saga (1893 / 2009)
Undset, Sigrid. Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath. (1920 / 1997)
Martinson, Moa. Women and Appletrees. (1933 / 1985)
Blixen, Karen. “Babette’s Feast” in Anecdotes of Destiny (1958)
Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia’s Daughters (1977 / 1985)
Wassmo, Herbjorg. Dina’s Book. (1989 / 1994)
Sinisalo, Johanna. Troll: A Love Story. (2000 / 2003)
Oksanen, Sofi. Purge. (2008 / 2010)

In 2007, a generous gift from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation allowed the Department to establish the Barbro Osher Endowed Professorship of Swedish Studies. In 2008, Professor Lotta Gavel Adams was appointed to hold the Barbro Osher Endowed Professorship in Swedish Studies for a period of five years.

In 2011, the Foundation donated an additional $250,000 into the existing endowment, thereby further strengthening and fortifying Swedish studies at the University of Washington. Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco, has been called the “Ambassador of Swedishness.” What inspires this passionate benefactor of Swedish Studies? According to Barbro Osher: “I feel that Scandinavia, on the whole, stands for social awareness and responsibility towards others both locally and globally. We exercise vision and long-term solutions in society and have, despite our small size, been at the forefront in social sciences as well as scientific research. We have well-defined policies to deal with issues such as global warming and sustainable development. Thus, Scandinavian Departments do not only stand for the study of languages and literature, they stand for developing vision, reason and responsible attitudes on a global scale.”

Andrew Nestingen’s most recent book project, SCANDINAVIAN CRIME FICTION, which he edited with Paula Arvas, is now published. For now, it is only for sale in the UK, but should be out in the US sometime soon. It is available through Amazon. The US distributor is the University of Chicago Press, where the book is also listed.

Congratulations Andy!

Reg Keeland is really Steve Murray. He told Publishers Weekly why he translates Scandinavian Literature. Please click here to read the article: Why I Write (or Translate).

The Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington is pleased to announce the establishment of the Nadia Christensen Endowment for Excellence in Nordic Studies to “recognize and reward outstanding academic performance and or scholarship by an advanced graduate student” who will be designated as a “Nadia Christensen Scholar.”

Created through a gift by the Hognander Foundation of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the endowment honors Dr. Nadia Christensen for her substantial contributions promoting a greater understanding of and appreciation for Nordic cultures. Christensen received her Ph.D. in 1972, and went on to become one of the foremost translators of Scandinavian literature. By establishing this award, the Hognander Foundation wishes to recognize and encourage students who, like Christensen, demonstrate excellence in Nordic studies.

Born in Minneapolis to parents of Norwegian and Danish descent, Christensen grew up in a home where the family’s Nordic heritage was deeply valued. She graduated magna cum laude from Augsburg College in 1959 and went on to earn graduate degrees in comparative literature at the University of Minnesota (MA, 1964) and the University of Washington (Ph.D., 1972) where she specialized in Scandinavian Languages and Literature. In the early years of her professional career, Dr. Christensen taught in Scandinavian departments at the University of Minnesota, the University of Washington, and Pacific Lutheran University. Later she served as the director of publications for the American-Scandinavian Foundation in New York and Editor-in-Chief of Scandinavian Review. While there, she established the ASF Translation Prize, the first annual award in the United States for English translations of Nordic literature. Christensen has published approximately 400 translations of fiction, poetry and drama, of which 19 are book-length works, including two winners of the prestigious Pegasus Prize. In 1996, His Majesty King Harald V of Norway awarded her the Knight’s Cross, First Class, of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in honor of her work as translator and dedication to furthering relations between the United States and Norway.

The first Nadia Christensen Scholar will be named by the Department of Scandinavian Studies in June, 2011.

The Department of Scandinavian Studies was nicely represented at the auction by two faculty, three graduate students, and five undergraduates. The Swedish Program benefits handsomely from this fundraiser as the Swedish Cultural Center awards two undergraduate tuition scholarships to Department students every year. This year the fund-an-item for undergraduate Swedish majors raised $8000, the most ever! THANK YOU SWEDISH CULTURAL CENTER!