The children’s book in Biblioteksbladet. A discourse analysis of texts written 1945-2009

The subject of this master thesis is to identify discourses regarding children’s literature in one of Sweden’s largest library magazines, Biblioteksbladet. The subject is furthermore to look at how the child is portrayed within these discourses and if the discourses change over time. The theoretical and methodological background is Norman Fairclough´s critical discourse analysis (CDA). A selection of 62 texts, published in Biblioteksbladet between the years of 1945-2009, was analyzed. Three discourses were identified: a pedagogic discourse, a literary discourse and a psychological discourse. The pedagogic discourse looks upon the literature as a means of teaching children valuable knowledge and good values. The literary discourse emphasize the literary qualities of the children’s books and The psychological discourse emphasize the children’s emotional needs and own opinion of the literature. The pedagogic and literary discourses share a similar view of the child, as someone in need of help and guidance, as opposed to The psychological discourse where the power relationship is more equal. The pedagogic discourse and psychological discourse contain distinct changes that can be linked to the surrounding social practices.Program: Bibliotekari