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Publicerad i Tydningen (2001-4570), 2015, nr 12/13, s. 60-62

This article aims to compare Gert Biesta’s, Hartmut Rosa’s and Thomas Kuhn’s perspectives on how transformative “events” emerge and become possible, and to relate their viewpoints to an educational context. The article shows how Biesta’s concept of subjectification, and Rosa’s idea of resonance, depend on viewing contemporary education as a state of status quo that is disrupted by a transformative event. Although their diagnoses of the contemporary and views on individual agency differ to some extent, Biesta and Rosa respectively place emphasis on the relationship between the subject and the world as the “space” where these events emerge. Subsequently, the article turns to Kuhn to propose another approach to understanding the dialectic of status quo and events. Through Kuhn, it is possible to introduce a more affirmative way of looking at how a state of status quo can underpin events, and how these events take place on a collective level, rather than in encounters between individual subjects and the world.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka de förändringar som väntar gällande gymnasieämnet svenska i och med att ämnesbetygsreformen träder i kraft. I fokus för studien är Skolverkets ambition att tydligare synliggöra svenskämnets bildningsaspekter. Studien undersöker dels hur bildning förstås av Skolverket inom ramen för ämnesbetygreformen, dels hur denna bildningsförståelse kommer till uttryck i en remissversion av gymnasieskolans svenskämne från 2022. Studien redogör för den teoretiska underbyggnaden till Skolverkets bildningsförståelse och jämför denna med den förståelse av bildning som Skolverket gav uttryck för under 1990-talet. Studien undersöker även hur svenskämnets bildningsaspekter knyts till språk respektive litteratur i 2022 års remissversion av svenskämnet. Studien visar att Skolverket har tagit till sig av den kritik som har riktats mot ämnesplanerna som infördes 2011. För svenskämnets del innebär förändringen ett större fokus på bildning, tilltro till den egna språkliga förmågan samt ett framhävande av litteraturens estetiska egenvärde. De nya förslagen på betygskriterier innebär också ett sätt att undvika att undervisningen styrs för mycket av kunskapskraven. Samtidigt diskuterar studien dels hur en ny form av styrning kan uppstå när detaljgraden höjs i ämnets centrala innehåll, dels hur det finns teoretiska spänningar mellan de bildningsteoretiker som Skolverket åberopar när skolans bildningsuppdrag skrivs fram.

The aim of the study is to discuss similarities and differences between Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of the entrepreneur and Harold Bloom’s theory of the romantic poet. In focus are the strategies or “aesthetics” employed by the entrepreneur and the poet, as well as their respective approach to their preceding tradition. The study is conducted against the backdrop of Swedish and European cultural and educational policy from the 2000s and the policy documents’ emphasis on the entrepreneur as a role model for creative workers.By comparing Schumpeter’s and Bloom’s theories, the study shows how the entrepreneur as well as the poet are indebted to a “Great Original” – the reigning form of capitalism and the preceding great poets, respectively – that must be undone and dialectically affirmed simultaneously. In this regard, both the entrepreneur and the poet need to misinterpret their “Great Original” in order to disclose (and transgress) the limits set by their predecessors. The study discusses this circumstance by evoking Schumpeter’s concept of “creative destruction” and Bloom’s references to Freud’s ideas on parricide.A difference between the theories, the study argues, lies in the fact that Bloom’s conception of the poet is more individualistic than Schumpeter’s conception of the entrepreneur, which is framed in terms of a “function” (rather than an individual) in Schumpeter’s later work. The study concludes by discussing whether the systemic challenges created by the entrepreneur and the poet are to be understood as constructive or destructive forms of critique. The study argues that both approaches can be seen as ultimately constructive, even though the entrepreneur safeguards the survival of capitalism and the poet strives to broaden the scope of – thereby breathing new life into – the history of poetry.

The aim of the dissertation is to study the idea of teaching literature as a means of democratic fostering in relation to the ideal of measurable knowledge prominent in contemporary policy discourse. In focus is the reform of the Swedish upper secondary school in 2011, viewed against the background of the major developments in global and European education policy discourse during the 2000s. The study examines how the interconnections between subject and society are understood in relation to the teaching of literature by different actors in the education system. The analysis is divided into a transnational level, a national level, and a didactic level. The study also shows how policy discourses are recontextualized between these levels. 

On the transnational level, the study argues that the EU’s educational policies increasingly stress economic gains, while at the same time lowering its democratic ambitions. The benefits of entrepreneurship are highlighted by the EU, and creative dimensions of the arts and humanities are seen as valuable for economic growth. In the framework for the PISA tests conducted by the OECD, reading literacy is considered important both to critical thinking and economic development. The reading of fiction, however, is singled out by the OECD as a recreational activity. By addressing the reading of fiction as an individual and psychological, rather than societal and structural, concern, its emancipatory value is further depoliticized. 

On the national level, the study shows how the concepts of democracy and the teaching of literature in the Swedish school have undergone changes since the 1940s. Most importantly, democracy has gradually come to be understood as a completed project rather than a critical concept. Theories on teaching literature as a means of democratic fostering are analysed through Gert Biesta’s three dimensions of citizenship education. As I argue, most of these theories emphasize democratic fostering as socialization rather than subjectification. In other words: they do not challenge society but promote an adaption to it. Using Peter Dahler- Larsen’s concept of constitutive effects, the study also shows how the school reform in 2011 de-emphasised democratic dimensions of the teaching of literature as compared to the previous curriculum. 

On the didactic level, the study uses qualitative interviews to show how teachers’ pedagogical choices are affected by administrative duties and the curriculum. As I argue, the teachers’ interpretation of the written curriculum serves as a means of negotiating with governing policies. In several cases, teachers downplay the relevance of the written curriculum and instead base their pedagogical choices on personal work experiences. 

The concluding chapter suggests that an important political implication of teaching literature as a means of democratic fostering – in particular when subjected to expectations of measurability – is the marginalisation of the educational dimension of subjectification. Instead of an education centred on core values and measurable competencies, I argue for a pedagogy that recognizes the pupil’s need to be exposed for uncertainties. 

This article focuses on the possibility of integrating citizenship education in Swedish language coursesafter the reform of Swedish upper secondary school in 2011. The studyis based on qualitative interviews with eight Swedish language teachers.All subjects answered questions about their views on literature educationin connection to citizenship education. The study shows that teachers canuse their interpretation of the written curriculum as a way of appropriating, refusing or negotiating with the governing policies. In several cases,teachers choose to downplay the relevance of the written curriculumand base their pedagogical choices on their own experience as teachersinstead. The study also examines the teachers’ views on democracy andentrepreneurship in education, and shows how tests and administrativeduties can influence the teachers’ pedagogical choices.

Tomas Tranströmer räknas som en av Sveriges mest betydande poeter genom tiderna. Samtidigt hör det till berättelsen om Tranströmer att han utsattes för hård kritik under 1960- och 70-talen för att hans poesi ansågs vara politiskt oengagerad. Hur kan man såhär femtio år senare förstå den kritiken? Stämmer det över huvud taget att Tranströmer hade kritikerkåren emot sig? Hur är det möjligt att från vår sida av millennieskiftet se på politiska dimensioner i Tranströmers poesi?

I antologin Tranströmer och det politiska undersöker åtta litteraturvetare från Umeå, Sundsvall och Åbo den tranströmerska poesins förhållande till politiken. Texterna tar avstamp i aspekter som diktjaget, parrelationen, tilliten till språket, civilisationskritiken, jämlikhets­tanken eller helt enkelt i den egna, känslomässigt grundade, upplevelsen av att läsa Tranströmers dikter. Antologin visar dels att det finns skäl att revidera litteraturhistorieskrivningen om Tranströmer, dels att det är möjligt att betrakta hans poesi som just politisk – även om den inte ­behandlar vad man i vardagligt tal kallar för politik.

The Swedish educational system is characterized by a well-structured framework with a strong focus on inclusivity and student-centered learning. Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, reforms have progressively adapted the system to meet social and economic demands, emphasizing both academic and vocational preparation. Democracy, sustainability, and digital innovation are key elements integrated into all educational levels. However, recent challenges, such as the privatization of schools (friskolor) and the digitization of education, have raised concerns about potential inequalities and their impact on educational quality. Despite its strengths, the system faces issues related to increasing social disparities and standardized assessments.

During the last few decades, the concept of ”literacy” has had a growing impact on the vast fields of education. Although the uses of the concept are multifaceted and diverse, the hegemonic policy discourse as supported by the OECD treats literacy as an individual competence closely tied to the development of explicit reading strategies. This article examines what the concept of literacy means for literary studies in general and literature education in particular. We argue that there are reasons to critically reflect upon the effects 

of invoking the concept of literacy in the field of literature education. With the aid of theorists like Rita Felski and Toril Moi, our main focus is to examine the risks of centering attention on the ”subject” (the student and his/her abilities) instead of the ”object” (in our case, the works of fiction). By turning to Gert Biesta and Emmanuel Lévinas, we argue that there is an educational value in acknowledging and appreciating what lies beyond the scope of the student’s immediate understanding.

I vårt föredrag presenterar vi som redaktörer den nyutkomna litteraturvetenskapliga antologin Uppmärksamhet (2024). Antologin rymmer bidrag från nio litteraturforskare från olika lärosäten och tar utgångspunkt i litteraturvetaren Toril Mois vardagsspråksfilosofiska argumentation för litteraturen som en särskild kunskapsform. Antologin är intresserad av att dels diskutera mottagandet av Mois böcker Språk och uppmärksamhet (2017) och Revolution of the Ordinary (2017), dels själv resonera kring vad litteraturläsning kan göra för människans uppmärksamhet i en fragmentiserad samtid där olika typer av nya medier ständigt pockar på vår tid och våra sinnen. De olika bidragen både tänker vidare med och kommer med invändningar mot Mois syn på uppmärksamhet, läsning och litteratur. Därtill är antologin intresserad av hur skönlitteraturen kan vara en startpunkt för en kritik av den ”uppmärksamhetsekonomi” som har gjort människors uppmärksamhet till en begärlig vara på en marknad.