Litteraturförmedling på gymnasienivå : En studie av kanon, beskrivningar och litteratursyn i fyra läromedelspaket för gymnasieskolan

This study examines in which way literature is presented in four schoolbooks for the Swedish senior high school of today, compared to descriptions and selections in Swedish universities. The study covers two basic schoolbook categories used in the teaching of Swedish and comparative literature: anthologies and textbooks. The four anthologies structures and their joined canon are presented, and the text canon of 12 common writers is studied and compared to the corresponding text canon in the universities selection of texts to main courses in comparative literature. The four textbooks are analysed by close reading of the presentations of four different writers and their works, where the textbooks for the Swedish senior high school are viewed through the glass of literary guides used in Swedish universities. The study also analyses what literary perspective is present in the Swedish school principles for education in literature and display, through earlier didactic studies, a sketch of the classroom reality of education in literature. The study finds that the examined schoolbooks for the Swedish senior high school tend to, not only shorten the text length and amount of texts but also, simplify the selection and presentation of the writers production. This leads to certain fixed and, in some cases, almost stereotyped ‘roles’ that are assigned to the writers and limits their production. The examined schoolbooks also tend to focus on the themes and meaning of the texts, while neglecting the structure, language and form. Further more, the view on canon is often fairly uncomplicated and seemingly unaware of the many years of canon debates. The selection of the four examined anthologies and textbooks for the Swedish senior high school, Ekengrens svenska, Svenska spår 2, Den levande litteraturen and Möt litteraturen, were based on popularity on the market. The corresponding material for Swedish universities was based on the selection in main courses in comparative literature from four of the largest universities: Göteborg, Lund, Stockholm and Uppsala. The selection of the four different writers and their work was based on a study on the canon of school editions of complete literary works in senior high schools of Stockholm