Nordic Spirit Symposium

Nordic seekers, adventurers and explorers from the 18th to the 21st centuries will highlight this dynamic symposium featuring distinguished speakers and polished performers. The public is invited to share the time-honored spirit of a symposium, blending music, dining and the free exchange of ideas to enhance the pleasure of learning.

Saturday, Feb. 6, 9 a.m.
Samuelson Chapel
The fascinating lives of the Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, the Icelandic Canadian-Arctic anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and the Swedish inner-Asia explorer Sven Hedin, as well as their great contributions to our understanding of diverse regions of the globe, will be described in richly illustrated presentations. Fabulous pictures and lively videos will reveal the challenges and joy found by four Scandinavian women when they spent 80 days skiing across Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Comedy and music in the style of Victor Borge will provide a change of pace to the program.

"The Inspirational Life of Fridtjof Nansen, Polar Explorer, Anthropologist, Oceanographer, Diplomat and Humanitarian" - Tommy Dickey, Ph.D., Department of Geography, Ocean Physics Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Deconstructing Sven Hedin. Great Explorer, Feckless Adventurer, or Self-Promoting ‘Foreign Devil on the Silk Road'?" - Daniel C. Waugh, Ph.D., Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle

"Travelling Passions: The Life and Work of Vilhjalmur Stefansson" - Gísli Pálsson, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Iceland

"Baffin Babes - 80 Days on Skis in the Arctic" - Ingebjoerg Tollefsen and Kristin Folsland Olsen, Norway

"Saving a Billion Lives: The Life and Achievements of Norman Borlaug, Agronomist" - Larry H.T. Johnson, S.T.M., retired pastor, Thousand Oaks. Induction of Norman Borlaug into the Scandinavian American Hall of Fame in California.

"Excuse Me, Does My Piano Count as One Carry-On?" Comedy and music in the style of Victor Borge - Magnus Martensson, Music Director, The Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York

Admission is $40; free for students.

Saturday Feb. 6, 7 p.m.
Lundring Events Center
Dinner and entertainment featuring Diane Jarvi, Finlandia Foundation National Performer of the Year, 2000.
Reservations required. Admission is $38.

For information and early registration fees, call (818) 788-4552 or e-mail seeallan@sbcglobal.net. The Nordic Spirit Symposium is sponsored by the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation and California Lutheran University, and is made possible by generous grants from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco.

Photo: Baffin Babes