Nordahl
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On Thursday, Nov. 18, IU Northwest will host a lunchtime discussion with Per Nordahl, a Swedish scholar and study circle expert, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second floor of the university library.
Nordahl, who is in residence at IU Bloomington, will present, "Weaving Ethnic Threads: Use of Study Circles in Developing Swedish-American Citizenship Identities."
For his dissertation 10 years ago Nordahl researched a group of Chicago-based Swedes. He found that their use of study circles was a decisive tool in becoming Swedish-Americans. He claims that many of the components of this process are universal and that those components might be used to understand social integration.
"By using the dynamics within their study circles, they were able to articulate who they were and were able to forge constructive alliances with other workers and ethnic groups," Nordahl said. "This eventually enabled them to negotiate a position within the American labor movement as well as within American society—a position that felt acceptable to both themselves and their new host society."
The event is being sponsored by the American Democracy Project, the Department of Labor Studies, the Center for Cultural Discovery and Learning, the Center for Sustainable Regional Vitality and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
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