The seventeenth volume of Norwegian-American Essays is published in the commemorative year marking the bicentennial anniversary and commemoration of the first organized and direct emigration from Norway to North America... In July of 1825 a crew and passengers of fifty-two individuals left Stavanger harbor on the sloop Restauration destined for the United States… The voyage of the Sloopers in 1825 was a prelude to an organized mass emigration from Norway in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. All told, about 900.000 emigrants left Norway between 1825 and about 1980… The bicentennial commemoration … includes actors and events in the United States, Canada, and Norway. The main objectives of Crossings 200 in Norway are, firstly, to raise awareness of Norwegian emigration, particularly to North America. A second objective is to use knowledge of past emigration to better understand contemporary immigration processes and integration into Norwegian society. The third objective is to foster transatlantic collaboration between Norwegians in Norway and abroad, based on a shared cultural heritage and cooperation. Our shared goal is to celebrate and strengthen connections between Norway and relevant communities, organizations, and institutions in culture, education, tourism, business, and research in North America.

The bicentennial commemoration of Norwegian emigration to North America … serves as a good opportunity to take into account new and under-communicated perspectives on Norwegian emigrant history. The theme and content of this volume, “Nordic Identity Formation in a Transnational Context,” relates well to the main objectives of Crossings 200. It is based on the topic of the seminar hosted by the Norwegian-American Historical Association, Norway Chapter (NAHA-Norge) in Ottestad and Hamar June 15-18, 2022. The theme of the seminar addresses a neglected field in Norwegian American studies. Traditionally, Norwegian historiography has treated the development of Norwegian immigrants and their descendants in their own right, and the group has only to a limited degree been studied in their encounters with other cultural groups. Counter this traditional focus on Norwegian emigrant history, the topic of the seminar and, consequently, this publication, focus on identity formation among Norwegian immigrants and immigrant groups from other Nordic countries in America from the period of immigration until present. The eight essays in this publication focus on identity formation among Norwegian immigrants and immigrant groups from other Nordic countries in America from the period of immigration until present.