Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JOKvvMCsQuGHbHJNQDdOZA

The presentation:

After providing a brief overview of Norwegian immigration to Canada, this presentation will introduce some well-known and lesser-known personal narratives by Norwegian immigrants and visitors to Canada which have been published or recorded over the past century. While a few—including Helge Ingstad’s iconic The Land of Feast and Famine (1931)—have received a great deal of critical attention and have had a marked impact on the Norwegian and/or Canadian popular imagination, most are relatively unknown. This talk will highlight one of the common themes in these narratives, namely the portrayal and construction of Canada as a wild place in which friluftsliv (“outdoor life”) can be cultivated in its many forms. Ingrid Urberg will also share material from her oral history project “The Norwegian Immigrant Experience in Canada.”

The Speaker:

Ingrid Urberg is a Professor of Scandinavian Studies on the Augustana Campus, University of Alberta, where she has taught Norwegian language and Scandinavian literature and culture courses for nearly thirty years. Her research focuses on personal narratives and polar literature, and she recently co-edited Einar Odd Mortensen’s The Fur Trader: From Oslo to Oxford House (Univ. of AB Press, 2022). Ingrid received her BA from Luther College (Decorah, Iowa), and she did her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has fond memories of her time in the Midwest. Ingrid serves on the boards of the Norwegian-American Historical Association, the Norwegian Researchers and Teachers of North America and the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada.