Swedish American Historical Society

03/03/2026

The Swedish American Historical Society is seeking its next Office Manager! If you or someone you know is looking for a fantastic part-time position, please follow this link to learn more and apply!

https://apply.workable.com/north-park-university/j/2B189AC853/

12/10/2025

On December 4th in Uppsala, Sweden, former Board President Philip J. Anderson and current Board of Directors member Bruce Karstadt, alongside 125 esteemed colleagues, friends, and officials from both Sweden and America, came together to celebrate the retirement of Dag Blanck at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.

What the assembled guests did not yet know was that Anderson and Karstadt would be presenting Dag Blanck with a festschrift, or a publication honoring his life's work assembled by 49 of his closest interlocutors.

Migration, Modernity, and Meaning: Studies of Sweden and America, Essays in Honor of Dag Blanck, published by the Swedish American Historical Society, is this festschrift. Today, we announce to a wider audience that our newest publication celebrates one of our longest-serving board members and a giant in the field of Swedish American Studies.

Migration, Modernity, and Meaning is now available for purchase via email and phone, and will be coming to our website soon.

06/10/2025

Watch museum director Karin Moen Abercrombie tour the Swedish American Museum!

06/06/2025

Join us in celebrating longtime Society board member Dag Blanck, Professor of Scandinavian Studies at Uppsala University, as he has recently received several prestigious awards for his lifelong research on Swedish emigration to North America and its broader implications!

In 2024, Blanck received the Torgny Segerstedt Medal, which celebrates his scholarship on Swedish-American relations focusing on history, politics, and social life.

More recently, he received the 2025 Stora historiepriset, one of Sweden’s most prestigious awards for history. The prize is awarded by the Sörmland museum and the culture and leisure board of Nyköping municipality.

This year, Blanck was also awarded the Charlotta Medal by the Swedish Emigrant Institute in Växjö, the leading Swedish institution in the field of Swedish migration to America.

Congratulations Dag!

04/22/2025

Didn't get a ticket to the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study's conference in Minneapolis this year? Looking for a musical way to spend a Saturday evening? Our fellow Chicago Swedish-Americans at the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville will host Sofia Talvik for an evening of music this Saturday, April 26th!

Sofia Talvik will be performing at the Museum on Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. Buy tickets on our website at https://swedishamericanmuseum.org/product/34100/. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase.

Learn more about Sofia Talvik at sofiatalvik.com

04/14/2025

Reminder! Tickets are on sale for our Spring event, Vikings in the Attic: a Luncheon and Lecture with Eric Dregni, hosted in collaboration with the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies.

Join us at the beautiful American Swedish Institute on Thursday, April 24th to hear Dregni speak and enjoy a delicious lunch from FIKA, the ASI's award-winning cafe.

Your ticket also includes admission to ASI’s Turnblad Mansion and the Ann Wolff: The Art of Living exhibit. Don’t miss this engaging afternoon of great food, conversation, and cultural exploration!

Buy tickets here: https://www.swedishamericanhist.org/product/vikings-in-the-attic-spring-2025-luncheon-and-lecture/

Send a message to learn more

03/31/2025

Announcing our Spring 2025 event, a Luncehon and Lecture with Author Eric Dregni.

Join SAHS and the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS) on Thursday, April 24 at Larson Hall at the American Swedish Institute. Enjoy a delicious meal from FIKA, ASI’s acclaimed café—featuring your choice of Lemon & Thyme Seared Salmon or Pumpkinseed Crusted Squash—along with coffee, tea, and plated cookies. Local author Eric Dregni will share insights from Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic America. Known for For the Love of Cod and In Cod We Trust, Dregni offers a fascinating look at Scandinavian heritage in the U.S., blending history, culture, and humor in a way that will captivate scholars and enthusiasts alike.

Book Tickets on our website at https://www.swedishamericanhist.org/product/vikings-in-the-attic-spring-2025-luncheon-and-lecture/

11/01/2024

It's time to renew your membership with the Swedish-American Historical Society!

This has been an incredible year of change for us. With a fresh new look, interesting events featuring scholars Jennifer Attebery and Julia Bachrach, and the debut of our reimagined publications, Swedish-American Studies and Glimtar, your support helps us continue our mission to record and interpret the Swedish presence in America.

Remember to renew by December 31st!

09/27/2024

Worried you missed out on tickets for our Fall Dinner and Lecture with Julia Bachrach?

We are happy to announce that we have opened up more seats for the dinner! Tickets are once again available on our website at https://www.swedishamericanhist.org/product/fallevent2024ticket/

09/12/2024

Our Fall Dinner and Lecture will take place at the Swedish American Museum!

The Swedish American Museum has been at its current location in the heart of Andersonville, a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago with strong Swedish roots, for over forty years. As a like-minded Swedish-American historical institution, the Swedish American Historical Society is thrilled to partner with the Swedish American Museum for our dinner.

While in town, check out the Swedish American Museum’s current special exhibition, Radically Marimekko, take a guided tour of Andersonville, or attend one of their wide array of programming and events, including Book Club, Knitting Group, and Hejsan!, a children’s reading and craft day.

For tickets to our Fall dinner and lecture, visit our website at https://www.swedishamericanhist.org/product/fallevent2024ticket/

Learn more about the Museum at their website, or on their page!

SAHS 2024 Fall Program: “Jens Jensen: A Scandinavian-American Force of Nature” presented by Julia Bachrach. Join the Swedish American Museum and the Swedish-American Historical Society for a riveting conversation with noted urban planner and historian Julia Bachrach. Bachrach will share Jensen.....

09/10/2024

The Fall 2024 issue of our newsletter, Glimtar has started to land in our members' mailboxes! With a fresh new name and look, this issue promises to be a fascinating read. Many thanks to our board member Anne-Charlotte Harvey for suggesting the new name.

Glimtar, meaning "glimpses" in Swedish conveys the Society's charge to provide an inside look at historic and contemporary Swedish America. The newsletter will feature articles structured around an issue theme alongside Society news, events, and publications in a format that will fit on your shelf next to a shiny new copy of our annual journal, Swedish-American Studies.

Not yet a member? Head to our website to see a PDF of the newsletter. While you're there, consider joining us!

Our newsletter provides the Swedish–American Historical Society a means of publicizing its activities as well as reporting on activities of members. It furthermore serves to promote fellowship among those with an interest in events related to Swedish–American life, culture, and history.