The Department of Scandinavian Studies begins an exciting new phase in 2018-19. The department has many new faces, with two new lecturers and four new graduate students. At the same time, our established faculty are innovating in their teaching and bringing out new publications. And we are renewing one of our core strengths: community partnership. We have teamed up with the Nordic Museum to organize the lecture series Scandinavian 30, we are undertaking an alumni stories project about…

On 27 September 2018, the Georg and Nina Pedersen Endowed Faculty Fund for Danish Studies was established by a signing of documents at the kitchen table of the Pedersen’s home. An initial donation of $50,000 established the new fund. It was the culmination of a conversation that began when Crown Princess Mary of Denmark visited the UW in early May for the the panel discussion on Women’s Economic Empowerment.  Women’s equality is a cause that is near and dear to the heart of…

Scandinavian 30 is a series of free, thirty-minute talks by UW Scandinavian Studies faculty held on the second Thursday of each month at the Nordic Museum. Grab a drink at Café Freya and find out what you really need to know to understand Scandinavia!  The Scandinavian Studies Department and the Nordic Museum have been partners since the museum’s founding in 1980. The Scandinavian 30 series renews this partnership bringing together Museum staff, audiences and UW students and faculty to…

Lauren Poyer joined the faculty this fall. She is a PhD candidate in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lauren is teaching Norwegian and Scandinavian Mythology this quarter. To get to know her a little better graduate student Connie Amundson posed a few questions.  Q: What drew you to studying your medieval nordic subjects of folklore and mythology? A: I came to medieval Scandinavia through the language, in one sense. I started learning Icelandic on…

Kim Kraft is the new undergraduate adviser for the Scandinavian Studies Department. She brings over a decade of experience in academic advising from her previous work in the UW Honors Program, Edmonds Community College, and Olympic College. Kim is proudly a "Double Dawg" with her BA in Communications, and her MA in Scandinavian Language and Literature, from UW. She also has a MS in Education from Old Dominion University.    Kim encourages all undergraduate students who are interested…

The visiting lecturers in our department are passionate about language, and have devoted their careers to teaching it. This year we have a new Visiting Lecturer of Latvian so we thought asking some questions would be a good way to get to know Solvita Pošeiko. Q: How long have you been teaching Latvian? A: I have been teaching Latvian as a foreign language for five years. This includes courses of various levels (A1-C1) and lengths for exchange students at Rēzekne Academy of Technologies…

This Summer the Copenhagen Classroom study abroad program was revived. During August, 14 students and several UW faculty were exploring the topic of 'Migration and Diversity - Denmark in Europe Today’. Under the leadership of visiting lecturer of Danish Kristian Næsby and Professor Marianne Stecher the students met significant cultural personalities, academics, authors and film makers, and experts on built environments.   The Copenhagen Classroom is taught onsite in Copenhagen,…

On May 4th Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark gave a keynote speech on women’s economic empowerment to a packed auditorium in UWs Kane Hall. The topic was her own; Denmark’s Crown Princess is a champion of women’s rights and a member of the Leadership Council of International Center for Research on Women.   The Crown Princess was accompanied to the UW by Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anders Samuelsen, Ambassador Lars Gert Lose as well as embassy staff.  The…

Dr. Kimberly Earles will be leading the "Alumni Story Project" during winter 2019. The purpose of the project is to gather stories about Scandinavian Studies alums' lives, their incredible adventures and professional achievements. Today's students want to know, "What did you do with Scandinavian Studies?" "How did it help you?" Help us answer their questions! The department will use material from the alumni story project to recruit and retain new students.     Kim says, "I am…