Home Page for

Terje I. Leiren

Sverre Arestad Endowed Professor in Norwegian Studies
Professor of Scandinavian Studies
Adjunct Professor of History
University of Washington

In Geiranger Department of Scandinavian Studies
University of Washington
Box 353420
Seattle, WA 98195-3420

Telephone: (206) 543-7233 / (206)543-0645
Fax: (206)685-9173
E-mail: leiren at uw.edu

Welcome

Welcome to my home page. I am Professor of Scandinavian Studies and History at the University of Washington, Seattle. I teach a wide range of courses on Scandinavia with primary emphasis on its history from the Viking Age to the present. My main areas of research are 19th and early 20th century Norwegian history and culture as well as Norwegian-America. From 1995 to 2010, I served as the Chair of the Department of Scandinavian Studies and am proud to be the current holder of the Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies.

Research

My research and publications deal primarily with questions of cultural and social history, including questions of national identity, in 19th and early 20th century Norway and Scandinavian-America. I have published three books: Marcus Thrane: A Norwegian Radical in America; Stage and Screen: Studies in Scandinavian Drama and Film, co-edited with Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams; and The Selected Plays of Marcus Thrane, a translation, with introduction, of six plays written and produced by Thrane in Chicago between 1866 and 1884. In addition, I have written extensively about, and continue my interest in, the life and work of Sigurd Ibsen, the son of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. My current research focuses on two themes: (a) Sigurd Ibsen's perceptions of politics and political power and (b) the role of Carsten Tank Anker in the events of 1814. Anker was the owner of the Eidsvold Iron Works and Norway's representative to England in 1814.

Teaching

I teach the broad scope of Scandinavian history courses at the University of Washington. These include the general survey courses of Scandinavian history (SCAND/HSTEU 380 and 381), the History of the Vikings (SCAND/HSTAM 370), and a graduate seminar with varying topics: "SCAND 525: Topics in Scandinavian History." Recent topics have included "Travel and Tourism in Scandinavia," "Scandinavia During World War II," and "Biography in Scandinavian History." Finally, I teach third-year courses in Norwegian language and culture.