The Nordic unit is thrilled to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2025, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to Scandinavian cultural and academic exploration. This landmark year will feature special events designed to engage alumni and individuals of Scandinavian descent, offering a rich tapestry of cultural exchanges, lectures, and celebrations. Our goal is to harness the passion and support of our community to raise substantial funds, ensuring the future of Scandinavian Studies in Wisconsin through a significant endowment. By investing in the department’s future, we aim to continue fostering an understanding and appreciation of Nordic heritage, keeping it a vibrant and integral part of our academic landscape. We invite you to join us in this celebratory year and contribute to a legacy that honors our past and secures our future. To stay informed about plans for the 150th anniversary, please contact Claus Elholm Andersen at ceandersen2@wisc.edu.
For more information about our program, see the Nordic page.
Upcoming Events
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"Anishinaabe Music: More Than Pow-wow" A musical event with Lyz Jaakola - Tuesday, February 25, 4:00pm
Join Lyz Jaakola for a live informance at the Play Circle Theater at Memorial Union!
Lyz Jaakola, Nitaa-Nagamokwe (The lady who knows how to sing) is the 2025 folk-musician-in-residence. Jaakola is a tribally enrolled Fond du Lac Ojibwe with Finnish-American heritage who will share traditional and modern Ojibwe-Anishinaabe songs and knowledge from her life-long study of Native American music, especially Anishinaabe women’s music. Using an Indigenous Informance style, weaving story, visuals and song she will be joined by her 18-year-old son to offer their 21st century American Indian perspectives.
The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. A reception will follow the in-person event.
Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest project.
Mission to Oslo: A Book Talk with Former Ambassador to Norway Tom Loftus - Tuesday, March 4, 2:30 - 3:45 pm
Mission to Oslo: A Book Talk with Former Ambassador to Norway Tom Loftus
Tuesday, March 4. 2:30-3:45, Social Sciences 6104
Join Author Tom Loftus for stories of the true and historic adventures he had as the U.S. ambassador to Norway during the mid 1990s, a time when NATO was expanding, Germany was reuniting, Norway was hosting both the Oslo Accords and the Winter Olympics — and Loftus was wining, dining, and most importantly, negotiating his way through it all! From dancing with the queen to negotiating with the Russians, Loftus will share tales of the big stakes, historic moments, and the fun adventures found in his memoir, “Mission to Oslo”.
"Facts and Fictions about the Vikings" A Zoom lecture with Professor Kirsten Wolf - Saturday, March 8, at 11:00 am
Given the fascination with the Vikings and the inordinate attention they have received not only by scholars but also amateur enthusiasts, it is not surprising that over the centuries, some unfortunate misconceptions about the Vikings have arisen. Despite efforts by scholars to make corrections and set things straight, some of these misconceptions continue to be perpetuated, especially in popular culture, such as movies and computer games — presumable because they help what makes a good story about the Vikings an even better story. In this lecture, attempts are made to address these misconceptions. Most people probably know that the Vikings did not wear horned helmets and did not drink out of skull cups. Some people may also know that not all Scandinavians were Vikings and that many Scandinavians worked as, for example, peaceful farmers and traders without ever setting foot on a ship and engaging in raid. Other readers may be surprised to learn no only that some of the Vikings were Christian but also that some of the Vikings ended up serving in the interest of the rulers of the regions in which they pillaged.
This event is online, free, and open to the public.
Jewish Museum Milwaukee: "A Relaxed Occupation? Denmark During The Second World War"- Thursday, March 27, 7:00 PM
The escape of the Danish Jews during the Holocaust was a remarkable achievement that still interests and inspires many people today. Join Professor Dean Krouk for an examination of some of the unique circumstances that characterized the Nazi occupation of Denmark, which has been considered a more “relaxed” occupation relative to other Nazi-occupied countries.
What made this occupation more “relaxed,” and what did that mean in practice during the war years? When and why did the occupation intensify? How have later Scandinavian historians discussed and debated the occupation of Denmark?
This talk will provide an important context for the undeniable heroism of ordinary people in this famous instance of rescue/escape.
DATE: Thursday, March 27, 2025
TIME: 7:00 – 8:15 p.m.
LOCATION: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
COST: Members $5 | Nonmembers $8
About The Presenter
Dean Krouk is a professor in the department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches courses in modern Scandinavian history and literature, including a course about the Second World War in the Nordic countries. He is the author of the books Fascism and Modernist Literature in Norway and The Making of an Antifascist: Nordahl Grieg between the World Wars. In addition, he has translated and written an introduction to an award-winning book by the Norwegian historian Bjørn Westlie, My Father’s War: Confronting Norway’s Nazi Past.
About The Image
A historic photo of the headquarters of the Schalburg Corps in Copenhagen, Denmark. Picture is post-1943, World War II. The building is the occupied lodge of the Danish Order of Freemasons.
"A Van Gogh Mystery: Pathways of Nordic Art and Literature in the 1880s." An in-person lecture with Professor Susan Brantly - Saturday, May 3, 11:00am
Join us on Saturday, May 3, at 11:00am in 19 Ingraham Hall as Professor Susan Brantly discusses her work helping to navigate the literary and artistic connections between Denmark, Holland, and France of a Van Gogh painting purchased for a dollar at a garage sale in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
The event is free and open to the public.
Reading Disability in Old Norse Literature with Dr. Natalie Van Deusen (University of Alberta) - Thursday, October 9
Reading Disability in Old Norse Literature
Dr. Natalie Van Deusen (University of Alberta)
Thursday, October 9, 2025
4:00pm–5:00pm
1418 Van Hise
Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies and Medieval Studies.