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COMING IN SPRING 2006 TO DEUTSCHES HAUS,
420 West 116th Street, New York City
A HISTORY OF NORDIC PARTNERSHIPS
AND A SWEDISH SING-ALONG SCHEDULED
FOR COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY THIS SPRING
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A history of Scandinavia's same-sex partnership laws by a distinguished scholar of gender and a sing-along of favorite
Swedish songs will be featured at two special events presented by the Columbia University Swedish Program this spring.
Both will be held at Deutsches Haus, at 420 W. 116th Street (between Amsterdam Ave. and Morningside Dr.), N.Y.C. The
public is invited, admission is free.
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The first program, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 7, will be a talk in English by Dr. Jens Rydström entitled "Legalizing Love
in a Cold Climate: The History, Consequences, and Recent Developments of Registered Partnership in Scandinavia." An
associate professor in the history department of Stockholm University, Dr. Rydström is the author of the doctoral study
From Sinners to Citizens: Bestiality and Homosexuality in Sweden 1880-1950 (University of Chicago Press, 2004),
which was awarded the 2005 John Boswell Prize by the Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, an affiliated society of the
American Historical Association.
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As Jens Rydström has written,
The Scandinavian model for registered
partnership for same-sex couples has been exported to more than a dozen
other countries, and the concept of gay marriage causes heated debate
around the world. In what way do these laws reflect on a new sense of
nationhood? Why did the Scandinavian countries create a separate category
for its homosexual citizens, a fifth marital status? What consequences
has it had for lesbians and gay men? How are homosexual citizens included
in the modern nation? And what does it mean for society of today to
accept and embrace new forms of family bonding?
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The AHA Committee on Lesbian and Gay History described Rydström's Sinners and Citizens as
a landmark study in queer history. [The author] contributes countless new insights to the field, illuminating distinctive
sexualities in Scandinavia, examining rural along with urban phenomena, and bringing a needed focus to sexual practices, in
addition to sexual identities and cultures. …. Elegantly written, [the study is] rigorously researched [and] mines government
reports, the daily press, scientific journals, forensic psychiatric statements, mental hospital records, church periodicals,
and sex reform movement literature, as well as questionnaires from 286 informants born before 1945. Forming the core of the
study, the author has unearthed 2,333 court cases …from Sweden's eight provincial archives and 84 of its 96 district courts -
a massive achievement. With great care and sober reasoning, the multi-lingual Rydström has detected important patterns in the
evolution of modern sexuality, while he has delicately narrated lives hitherto beyond the pale of academic inquiry. His book
is a model of scholarly innovation and daring.
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SING ALONG IN SWEDISH WITH MALIN AND MICHAEL
The second program of the spring season will be an Allsång på svenska, that is a sing-along in Swedish led by mezzo
soprano Malin Serner and classical guitarist Michael Cedric Smith. This community sing-for Swedish buffs, friends of
Sweden, and music lovers generally-will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, also at Deutsches Haus.
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Ms. Serner is a favorite of the Swedish Program, with several musical evenings at Columbia already to her credit
("Twilight Is the Loveliest: Songs from the North" in April 2005 and "Swedish Songs of Love and Loss" in November 2003).
She started her music studies in Stockholm, where she performed with the Royal Dramatic Opera and Adolf Fredrik Opera; in the U.S.
she appeared with the Des Moines (Iowa) Metro Opera; the Natchez (Mississippi) Opera; and in New York City with the Dicapo Opera,
the Opera Orchestra, the Swedish Church, the Brooklyn College Opera Theatre, and Opera on the Go. She holds a master's degree
in music from Brooklyn College and has also studied acting, dance, and voice as well as languages, in both New York and Sweden.
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Ms. Serner will be accompanied by Michael Cedric Smith, a classical guitarist who appears frequently as a recitalist and in
chamber music concerts in New York and across the country. He has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble;
with the New York University Chamber Players; in solo recitals on the "La Folia Series" at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital hall;
and with the Conservatory Orchestra of Brooklyn College. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and is currently
on the faculty at the Conservatory of Music of Brooklyn College.
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Both programs will be sponsored by the Swedish Program with the assistance of The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
Reservations for the programs are not required.
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| For information about these programs, telephone: 212-854-4015 or
e-mail: [email protected] |
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