Scandinavia: Crossings 2025: Immigration and Emigration in the Nordic Region

On July 4, 1825, 52 Norwegians, some of whom and their descendants would become converts to the Church, left Stavanger, Norway on a sloop-rigged ship called Restauration and arrived on October 9 in New York City. July 4, 1825 marks the beginning of emigration from Norway to the US. Norway and the United States are partnering in 2025 to celebrate 200 years of exchange between the two countries. The bicentennial commemoration provides the opportunity to explore questions surrounding emigration and immigration not only in the context of the 2025 celebration, but in a broader national, regional and global context. We will not only explore the movement of people and what motivates them to leave home and seek a new life elsewhere, but think broadly about the movement and circulation of ideas and goods as well—about travel and mobility as a feature of the human experience. The itinerary for our study abroad will start in the Westman Islands of Iceland, where a small group of Saints left the islands and ended up in Spanish Fork, Utah. We will then travel to Norway and take a brief trip to Stavanger, Norway to send a replica of the ship Restauration off on its voyage to New York City in celebration of the 2025 crossing, before settling in Oslo. We’ll also take excursions to Bergen, Norway and to Copenhagen, Denmark, which will give us ample opportunity to ask and answer questions about why people leave home and what they find in those places where they arrive. And along the way, we will enjoy the midnight sun, swimming in the fjords, beautiful walks, bakeries, and the food culture of the Nordic region.

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