Scandinavian Studies Commons^™

A Study Of Rachel Galinne’S Dybbuk For Solo Clarinet: A Classical Work With Klezmer Influences, Rachel S. Levison

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Composer Rachel Galinne self-identifies first and foremost as an Israeli with Swedish roots. She was born and raised in Sweden to Holocaust survivors and always felt a deep connection to Jewish traditions and culture, leading her to immigrate to Israel. Her compositions are derived from her formal education in musicology and composition in contemporary music, as well as from her Jewish community. Her Jewish heritage is represented in her compositions through text, motivic ideas, and specific topics. Dybbuk for solo clarinet is an excellent example.

This solo follows the perspective of Leah, one of the main characters in Solomon Ansky’s …

The Songs Of Jean Sibelius: Poetry, Music, Performance, By Gustav Djupsjöbacka, Lina Sheahan

Library Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

First Year Language Acquisition Diagnostic Quizzes, Melissa Gjellstad

AI Assignment Library

This assignment asks students to use generative AI to develop low-stakes tests to help them study vocabulary words and concepts. Students may find this test generation strategy help to create their own study materials as they build vocabulary, improve reading comprehension, and prepare for chapter tests or unit exams.

The Hidden History Of The Norseman And Celts, Amber Nicole Johnson

Whittier Scholars Program

When people hear the word Celts or Vikings there seems to be a common stigma or romanticization of them. This seems to stem from the early iron age and has shifted over to the 21st century with the production of movies and franchises. They are often depicted as being savage, barbaric, or warrior based (a term used to describe them) when there is a whole other side to these people. In the Spring of 2023, I took an independent study course that allowed me to examine the available archaeological and other evidence to understand the identities of the Germanic and …

Denmark And Sweden: The Collision Between Welfare State Politics And Immigration, Amy Elizabeth Cantrell

Student Publications

The Scandinavian welfare states of Denmark and Sweden have famously similar socio-political and cultural systems, ones which have advanced the common perception of these nations as united in a common humanitarian and progressive global position. However there exists a significant divergence within either nation’s approach to immigration, asylum and integration policy, one indicative of the deeply ingrained deviations in popular understandings of national belonging and perspectives on greater European and global integration. By contextualizing the historical progressions of either nation and juxtaposing their individual responses to both the 2015 European refugee crisis and the contemporary Ukrainian conflict and resulting refugee …

Passing Down The Rolling Pin: Lefse, Memory, And A Norwegian-American Identity, Rebecca Garbe

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

This paper explores the intersections between memory and food-making and how they inform a Norwegian-American cultural identity. Based on fieldwork done in June and July of 2019 in Fosston, Minnesota, I use lefse, a Norwegian potato-based flatbread, as a focal point, for analysis. I argue that lefse-making in Fosston acts as a medium through which residents engage with a collective memory of an immigrant heritage. This traditional food-making, I assert, relies on knowledge passed down through and across family lines allowing food-makers and eaters to experience an embodied connection to their cultural past. Investigating my own Norwegian heritage, I draw …

Marching Straight In Sweden: The Parade Of A Queer Swedish Utopia Or False Hope?, Ainslie Lounsbury

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

Sweden is considered to be one of the most open, welcoming countries in the world. Often, the country is viewed as a shining example of inclusion, especially in regards to their support of the LGBTQ+ community. When analyzing various media from the country, however, many questions arise. Are the groups creating these advertisements doing so for the benefit of the LGBTQ+ community? Or are they for boosting sales, tourism, and recruitment? What if these advertisements actually harm the LGBTQ+ community through stereotyping? Through the analysis of Swedish military and corporate images supporting the LGBTQ+ community, Lounsbury explores possible ideas about …

The Dead Actually Tell Many Tales: How Archaeologists Have Used Scientific Analysis To Study Scandinavian Burials, Claire F. Benstead

Student Publications

Archaeologists often employ techniques from scientific fields to better analyze historical and prehistorical sites. Here we explore how developments in scientific analysis have changed and improved our understanding of past societies. With a specific focus on the study of Scandinavian burials, we review the history of Scandinavian archaeology and how the field is constantly changing as a result of new and more nuanced analysis. From the Bronze Age to the Viking Age, we analyze how new information challenges previous assumptions about Scandinavian societies.

The Swedish Welfare State And Women: Is Sweden The Feminist Society The United States Imagines?, Amanda Schar

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

This paper discusses several aspects of the Swedish welfare state and whether or not they represent a successfully feminist form of government. It compares these aspects of the Swedish government to the United State’s government.

The Environmental History Of Swedish America, Dr. Brian Leech

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

In August of 2019 I had the privilege of spending a week doing research at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. The goal for this research was to locate resources for new courses on environmental history that I’m teaching under the re-formed semester curriculum at Augustana College.

Latin America And The Swedish Diaspora: The Case Of Cuba And Argentina, Dr. Oleski Miranda Navarro

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

I spent a week at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Center to explore materials that would highlight the history and cultural influence of Swedish and Scandinavian immigration in Latin America. Before beginning my research, I pinpointed a few texts and publications at the Center that I thought would help to develop further connections between race and immigration for Latin America. My intention was to include the subject in the delivery of my Latin American Studies courses at Augustana College and eventually pen a journal article on the research findings. Once I began working at the Swenson Center, I was happy to …

Like A Jar Of Flies? A Study Of Self-Control In An Organizational Social Dilemma With Large Stakes, Matthew W. Mccarter, Jonathan R. Clark, Darcy Fudge Kamal, Abel Winn

Business Faculty Articles and Research

We study the practice of self-control in an organizational social dilemma when the stakes are large, using 47 years of vital census data from 18^th century Sweden. From 1750 to 1800, eighty percent of Sweden lived in a simple-structure organization called a bytvång or village commons. The amount of resources a village family received was a function of their size. During this period, crop failures left the population facing starvation. Using autoregressive time-series modeling, we test whether the people of Sweden continued to take steps toward increasing the stress on the commons by marrying and birthing children or practiced …

Loki: God Of Mischief, Tori Blas

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Loki is commonly recognized as one of the many characters inhabiting the cinematic universe of Marvel. There, he is the son of Odin, brother of Thor, and the god of mischief. In the original context of Norse mythology, all but one of those descriptors are incorrect. Besides being an antagonist that often opposes Thor in the Marvel franchise, he has significance in Norse mythology from being the only god living in Asgard despite descending from giants of Jotunheim to his role in the end of Asgard and the world, better known as Ragnarok. He is seen as a god despite …

A. T. Lundholm: His Life And Work In Historical Context, 1875-1969, Alina Lundholm

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

This paper was designed to reach a number of objectives. I was required to research my family and their ties to Augustana College. My main objective was to read various Scandinavian texts that related to the immigrant experience. These texts included Nordic Immigration to North America, H. Arnold Barton’s A folk divided : homeland Swedes and Swedish Americans, 1840-1940, and a historical fiction work, The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg. Through my researching at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center as well as my own work digging into my family’s personal collection, I decided to focus my paper on my great-grandfather, …

Finding Teaching Inspiration At The Swenson Center, Dr. Kimberly La Palm

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

I spent a week working with the Swenson Center's collections. My original goal was to find material that I could use in my course on Scandinavian Folklore but I found much more material than I realized I would and now I have a list of ideas and inspiration for nearly all of the courses in the catalogue.

Why Munch?, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Presentations

Why Munch? was a keynote lecture for the conference "Marketing the North," sponsored by the society Munch, Markets and Modernism, in November 2017. In asking the question, the paper explores Munch's canonical status, especially vis-a-vis other Scandinavian artists of his time. In particular, the essay addresses the evolving nature of artistic professionalism at the end of the 19th century, and how Munch's personal and artistic behavior evoked a new definition of bohemianism that resonated deeply with the rise of European modernism and the post-1900 avant-gardes.

The Changing View Of The Arctic: The University Of Illinois And Arctic Studies, Mark Safstrom

Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This is a brief report on a summer study abroad program which the University of Illinois conducted in Northern Sweden and Svalbard, Norway between 2012-2016, for which the author served as program organizer and instructor. It originally appeared as a post on the U.S. Department of State's blog "Our Arctic Nation," which reported on Arctic connections between each of the states in the union and the District of Columbia ( https://medium.com/our-arctic-nation ). This blog was condensed for this commemorative book which was printed in a limited edition by U.S. Arctic Council Chairmanship Initiative.

Dvd Study Guide For "God’S Glory, Neighbor’S Good: The Story Of Pietism", Mark Safstrom

Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This study guide was written by Mark Safstrom and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom to accompany the documentary film, "God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good: The Story of Pietism" (2017). Pietisten Inc. is the publisher and Vision Video is the distributor for this DVD. This study guide is intended as a resource for teachers and pastors to facilitate post-viewing discussion of a 75-minute overview of the history of Pietism. This episode is divided into three main chapters, which have brief summaries. The questions for these chapters have been further divided into smaller sections, to allow flexibility for viewing in shorter installments and allow greater time …

Silliness And Stillness: A History Of Covenant Point Bible Camp In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Mark Safstrom

Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

"Silliness and Stillness" tells the history of Covenant Point Bible Camp, located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Founded in 1926, it has primarily served the congregations of the Swedish Mission Covenant (now Evangelical Covenant Church), and represents the broader revival movements that produced that denomination in the nineteenth century. The story of this camp is also part of the history of the Christian camping movement that developed throughout the twentieth century in the United States and Canada. In addition to being an anniversary book for the particular community that calls the camp "home," it also presents the theological background …

Swedish Immigrant Trail Game Report, Dr. Forrest Stonedahl

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

During the 2017-2018 academic year, I led a collaborative interdisciplinary project to develop a historical fiction video game focused on the Swedish immigration story. With bristling debates over modern immigration in national and international politics, it seems more important than ever for us to look to history to understand the immigrant experience, both at a personal level (immigrants' lives and stories), and at a broader cultural and economic level to understand the impact they have had on our nation, and that our nation has had on them.

A Review Of Climate Change Induced Effects On Avian Prey Species And Their Consequences For Arctic Fox Populations Of Western Iceland, Mikala Jordan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Island arctic fox populations are considered to carry the future wellbeing of the global population. Iceland has an island population with two arctic fox eco-types: western/coastal and eastern/inland. The western fox population is protected by the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve; no such protection exists for the eastern fox population. Food sources in both regions differ from each other and vary from summer to winter, but reliable and ample winter time food sources are the most critical for fox population’s survival. A literature review on arctic foxes and their prey species in the face of climate change is important for understanding possible …

Independent Study Project: Investigation Into The Implications Of Zooarchaeological Studies For Climate Reconstruction In The North Atlantic; Zooarchaeological Research At The Agricultural University Of Iceland, Reykjavík, Hazel Cashman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Zooarchaeology, the study of animal remains from archaeological sites, is crucial to the understanding of human interaction with the environment in the North Atlantic region and in Iceland, where the archaeological record is quite rich (Dugmore et al., 2005). Since its inception, zooarchaeology has drawn methods and concepts from both the natural and social sciences, as well as from history and the humanities, to inform an interdisciplinary understanding of the interactions between humans and their environments and the consequences of these interactions for humans and animals (Reitz and Wing, 2008). In this way, zooarchaeology can inform discussions about historical anthropogenic …

What Is The Taste Of Co2? The Sustainability Of Icelandic Food Systems In The Face Of Climate Change, Molly Peek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Food security in the arctic and subarctic is an area of growing research and concern as climate change continues to alter the availability of traditional foods eaten in remote areas, especially as shipping food has questionable sustainability and contributes to rising CO2 levels. Previous research has noted changes in the Icelandic diet making it more reliant on foreign imports, although there is still strong localized agriculture. Because of its geothermal activity, Iceland has a unique advantage over other highlatitude countries in growing food with a minimal carbon footprint, although that potential is unequal throughout the country. This study utilized available …

Investigating Effects Of Climate Change On Glaciers And Proglacial Landscapes In Southeast Iceland: Fluvioglacial Behavior Of Sólheimajökull And Seljavallajökull, Roberta B.C. Miller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Seljavallajökull glacier, part of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier system, and Sólheimajökull, part of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier system, are two glaciers that extend into valleys in the southeast part of Iceland. Due to climate warming, both of these glaciers are part of a melting ice cap. They are located nearby to one another, and Sólheimajökull has been extensively studied for its outwash plain sedimentology, retreat history, pro-glacial geomorphology and has been steadily monitored by the Glaciological Society of Iceland. Seljavallajökull has also been monitored by this group, but it has not been studied for sediment profiles and landscape chronology as Sólheimajökull …

Proxy Dating In Iceland Testing The Validity Of Silene Acaulis As A Phytometric Proxy, Madelyn Grant

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate change is causing drastic changes in the cryosphere, particularly in the Arctic region where average warming is 1.9 times greater than in the rest of the world due to Arctic amplification. Understanding the response of essential climate variables such as glaciers and ice caps to rapid Arctic warming is essential to predicting future changes in the Arctic region and around the world. Proxy dating methods can help construct a record of warming-induced glacial retreat in areas where long-term monitoring systems are not in place. In Arctic regions, the cushion plant Silene acaulis represents one of the only feasible proxies …

Variability Of Lacustrine Sediment Proxy Responses To Late Holocene Climate Change As Modified By Lake Specific Processes: A Review Of Ecological And Geophysical Processes Across Northern And Eastern Iceland, Mallory Mintz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Consistenly-deposited lake sediments provide some of the highest resolution records of local and global climates in the past, offering the potential to better understand modern climate change in the context of past climate variability. In relating proxies to their respective climate regimes, the environmental cues that the specific proxies reacted to must be isolated from the general noise of possible local influences. In this investigation, biogenic silica (BSi), total organic carbon (TOC), δ13C values, and carbon: nitrogen ratios were analyzed between lakes through northern Iceland, to review possible complicating factors specific to the use of lacustrine proxies in the interpretation …

[Sabbatical Report], Yvonne Petkus

Sabbatical Reports

Project Title: Processing the 'Scape': Studio Research

The objective for the sabbatical period was to conduct this research in the form of paintings, drawings, and installations with an emphasis on examining new sources for the environments within the work and to explore shifts in figure/ground relationships within the formal structuring of the work. An extension of my previous studio efforts, this includes the use of serial painting and installations (on plastic) as a way to wade through philosophical and formal questions, explored through the additive and subtractive act of painting and a resulting, recurring figure held in expressly ambiguous spaces.

Muslimska Församlingar Och Föreningar I Malmö Och Lund – En Ögonblicksbild, Leif Stenberg, Rickard Lagervall

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Hooked On The Right: Explaining The Electoral Success Of The Sweden Democrats, Fabian N. Sivnert

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Why do radical right parties achieve electoral success? Although radical right parties are far from a new phenomenon in modern politics, it nonetheless remains difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons behind their electoral success. Therefore, to provide greater insight into the success of radical right parties this study investigates the Sweden Democrats, a radical right party in Sweden, and their recent electoral success. According to the literature on the radical right, there are two distinct hypotheses that emerge to explain radical right parties’ electoral success. One (the “emphasis” hypothesis) argues for continued, and consistent emphasis on the signature ideological issue, …

"Processing The Scape", Sim And Hvítahús Artist Residencies, Iceland, Yvonne Petkus

Grant Reports

International Activities Grant – Final Report

"Processing the Scape", SIM and Hvítahús Artist Residencies, Iceland was a sabbatical related research activity that included two artist residencies in Iceland: SIM Residency Program in Reykjavík (February 2016) and Hvítahús Artist Residency near Hellisandur (March 2016).