2025-04-16 – April Bokprat: Muus vs. Muus with Kari Lie Dorer from St. Olaf (Online)

Schedule: 

Instructor: 

Location: 

Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College's Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a monthly bokprat, discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. Join us online in April for a discussion of Muus vs. Muus with author Kari Lie Dorer from St. Olaf.

Set in 1880s Minnesota, Muus vs. Muus explores a landmark lawsuit that ignited debates on faith, family, and cultural identity within a Norwegian immigrant community. Newly translated from its original Norwegian edition, this gripping narrative recounts the separation of Oline and Pastor Bernt Muus, a prominent Lutheran couple. Oline, a mother and pastor’s wife, sued her husband to reclaim her inheritance, challenging both traditional Norwegian Synod expectations and gender norms in America, where women’s rights were advancing. Meanwhile, Bernt, known for his passionate sermons and rigid confidence, embodied the tensions between old-world values and American law. Beyond their personal conflict, the book contextualizes Norwegian immigration, Lutheran divisions, and the broader struggle of assimilation, offering a vivid portrait of a changing society.

Supplies:

Registrants should secure their own copy of the book (available for purchase soon through the Vesterheim Museum Store) and have read it prior to the discussion. 

Students will need to provide a computer, laptop, or tablet with a camera and mic as well as a fast, reliable internet connection.

Special Instructions:  

When registering for the class, please make sure to use the mailing and email addresses you'd like the Zoom meeting invitations sent to. You will receive links to the Zoom sessions by email sometime during the week prior to the class. If this class is a gift, please sign up with the recipient's mailing and email addresses or be prepared to forward the kit and all communications.

Enrollment Deadline: 

April 2, 2025

Click Here to learn more about instructor Dr. Maren Anderson Johnson.

Vesterheim’s Bokprat classes are supported in part by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from Bruce Gjovig from Grand Forks, North Dakota. 

Vesterheim’s 2025 online programming is supported in part by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from Sons of Norway - Noreg Lodge 3-466.