B.A. (History), Colgate University, 2015
M.A. and Ph.D. (History), Brandeis University, 2019, 2023
Caitlin Sackrison is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Norwegian at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. She specializes in US and European immigration history, early modern and modern European history, Nordic and Scandinavian-American history, women in history, and gender and sexuality studies.
Her current research focuses on Norwegian immigrant women homesteaders in Minnesota in the aftermath of the US-Dakota War of 1862. She also critically examines the ways in which Nordic immigrant settlement contributed to the forceful dispossession and attempts at cultural erasure of indigenous peoples in North America. What drew her to this subject was her own family's history in Minnesota, and an interest in critically exploring how their immigration story was connected to the wider history of the Upper Midwest.
In her past research, she explored how women and families are impacted by moments of societal upheaval, focusing on immigration and migration, occupation shifts, and subversive forms of expression. Her work also explores challenges to socially constructed and expected gender roles, highlighting the lives of women, men, and people who are gender nonconforming throughout history.
When not teaching and researching, she spends time with her husband and two dogs, Leif and Hazel, and can usually be found buying far too many flowers and vegetables at a farmers market in the Twin Cities. As someone born and raised in Minnesota, and the daughter of two Ole alums, it has been a joy to return to Minnesota and teach on the Hill.
Current Courses (Fall 2026):
NORST 100: Nordic Values (RFV), HIST 188: Norwegian Immigration to Minnesota, NORST 264: Nordic Sexualities and Genders (WAC)
Upcoming Courses (Spring 2027):
FYS: Borders and Beloning, FYS: Memory and Memorialization, HIST 214: Nordic Revolutions (ERC)
Past Courses:
NORST 219: Religious (In)Tolerance in Scandinavia (ERC), FYS 100A: Life on the Hill