The ninth annual Nordic Spirit Symposium will be held Feb. 8 and 9 at California Lutheran University.
What: Nordic Spirit Symposium
When: February 8 and 9
Where: California Lutheran University
Info: http://www.callutheran.edu
In the time-honored spirit of a symposium, “Myths, Digs and Saga Kings: A New Look at the Viking Age” will blend music, dining and the free exchange of ideas.
The program will highlight recent research and new insights that demonstrate the powerful Viking impact on the British Isles, continental Europe, and North American society. The program will also examine the dramatic meeting of northern paganism and European Christianity to provide a new perspective on Viking Age myth and religion.
A reception will launch the symposium at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, at the Scandinavian Center at 26 Faculty Road next to the CLU campus.
That evening’s program will begin at 7 p.m. in CLU’s Samuelson Chapel. Richard Hall, director of archaeology at York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research, will discuss “England and Europe: Some New Insights into the Viking Impact” and Scandinavian-American soprano Elly Erickson will present “A Nordic Tapestry: An Evening of Scandinavian Song.” The cost is $20 for the public and free for students.
The program resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 in the chapel. Featured speakers include Marit Synnøve Vea, manager of the Avaldsnes Project, an estate that was once home to Norway’s Viking kings; Anne-Christine Larsen of the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark; John Lindow of the UC Berkeley Scandinavian department; and Kirsten Wolf, chair of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Award-winning Swedish pianist Samuel Skönberg will perform “Nordic Piano Favorites.” Tickets are $40 for the public and free for students.
Reservations are recommended for the presentations and performances. Reservations are required by Monday, Jan. 28 for a luncheon and evening banquet on Feb. 9. For more information or to make a reservation, contact C. Allan Carlson at (818) 788-4552 or seeallan@sbcglobal.net.
The Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation and CLU are sponsoring the symposium with support from Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco.