Byron NordstromEmeriti

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Byron Nordstrom joined the faculty in 1974, and retired in 2009. During his years at the college, he taught the European history survey courses as well as courses on the history of Scandinavia, European war and diplomacy, and 20th century Europe. He received his BA from Lawrence University in 1965, and an MA and PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1968 and 1971 respectively.

Nordstrom is the editor of The Swedes in Minnesota (1976), compiler and editor of The Dictionary of Scandinavian History (1986) and author of Scandinavia Since 1500 (2000), The History of Sweden (2002), and The Culture and Customs of Sweden (2010). He has contributed chapters in books and written articles on various aspects of Swedish-American life in Chicago and Minneapolis, and authored numerous reference work entries on Scandinavian history. He served as editor of The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly for twenty years. Nordstrom's research focuses on neighborhood development and the role of organizations in creating and maintaining identities in Swedish America and on Scandinavia in the 1920s and 1930s. He currently serves as a volunteer tour facilitator at The American-Swedish Institute's Turnblad mansion and keeps busy exploring many unanswered questions about that extraordinary residence and the family that had it built.

Courses Taught