Course

Scandinavian Studies Directed Study

Document Type

Student Paper

Publication Date

3-29-2018

Disciplines

Scandinavian Studies

Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement

This paper was designed to reach a number of objectives. I was required to research my family and their ties to Augustana College. My main objective was to read various Scandinavian texts that related to the immigrant experience. These texts included Nordic Immigration to North America, H. Arnold Barton’s A folk divided : homeland Swedes and Swedish Americans, 1840-1940, and a historical fiction work, The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg. Through my researching at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center as well as my own work digging into my family’s personal collection, I decided to focus my paper on my great-grandfather, Algot Theodore Lundholm. This choice was made obvious because of Algot’s life: he was a Swedish immigrant and had numerous ties to Augustana College, the seminary, and the Augustana Synod that were integral to the bulk of this work. This paper serves to illuminate the experience of a Scandinavian-American on a grand scale while tying the big picture to the narrow focus of my great-grandfather and his life’s work, most particularly his devotion to his Lutheran faith and how this connected him to the Augustana community.

Comments

3rd Place Winner