Nordic Spirit Symposium

The Nordic Spirit Symposium offers a sampling of life in the Nordic region after the Viking Age, with illustrated presentations on Nordic culture and religion by authorities from the U.S. and Europe. The public is invited to join in the spirit of a symposium, which blends music, dining and the free exchange of ideas to enhance the pleasure of learning.

Saturday, 9 a.m. - Preus-Brandt Forum
"Viking Temples to Viking Churches: A Majestic and Elegant Contribution to World Architecture"
Ernst F. Tonsing, CLU professor emeritus of religion, discusses the evolution of the construction of Christian churches in Scandinavia, from enclosures created by driving large posts into the ground to soaring structures with pagoda-like roofs and bells that rang up and down the fjords to call the faithful to worship. Tonsing will illustrate this majestic and unique contribution to world church architecture with photographs taken on a recent trip to Scandinavia.

"The Late Medieval Church Interior: the Room and Its Holy Images"
Lena Liepe of the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas at the University of Oslo, Norway, will review the design and layout of the typical church interior and the form and location of its imagery in the context of the ritual, liturgical and devotional performances enacted by the clergy and experienced by the lay members of the congregation.

"Saints and Late Medieval Nordic Politics"
Tracey Sands of the Centre for the Study of the Cultural Heritage of Medieval Rituals, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, will discuss examples of how saints were represented – or called upon – in support of various political causes and positions during the contentious period of the Kalmar Union, when a single monarch ruled the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

"Medieval Statues in Action"
In an illustrated presentation, Thomas A. DuBois of the Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, surveys the rich trove of surviving medieval statuary in the Nordic region as reflections of religious ideals, artistic careers, and international commerce in the five centuries prior to the Reformation. These wooden statues were imported and relocated, presented, altered, appealed to, updated and replaced over the course of centuries.

"Charming Scandinavia: Word Power, Magic and Tradition in the Nordic World"
Word magic – besvärjelser, trollformler, álög and so on – was an important tool in the survival kit of those who lived in early northern Europe. Stephen Mitchell, a professor in the Department of Scandinavian and Folklore at Harvard University, will discuss who used word magic, how they did it, and what it means.

Admission is $40; free for students, CLU faculty and staff.

Saturday, 7 p.m. - Lundring Events Center
Dinner and Entertainment
Serenading with Bassoon, Accordion and Piano through Finnish Music
Terhi Miikki-Broersma, musician and vocalist, from Lyndon, Wash.

Reservations required. Admission is $30.

For information and early registration fees, call 805-778-0162 or email seeallan@hotmail.com.

The Nordic Spirit Symposium is made possible by generous grants from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco, the Norway House Foundation and the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles.