[{"_id":"project:9400","_type":"project","abstract":{"sv":"Syftet med projektet är att studera hur läsning i hemmet har formats i det svenska välfärdssamhället. Sverige har en lång och unik tradition av såväl explicit som implicit styrning av läsning i hemmen. Under 1900-talet har det varit ett politiskt verktyg för att försöka fostra svenska medborgare till att bli moderna och bildade i ett demokratiskt samhälle. Denna typ av styrning av läsning i hemmen har dock inte tidigare undersökts eller problematiserats. \n\nI forskningsprojektet kommer vi att analysera läsinstruktioner, det vill säga texter som ger instruktioner och råd för hur läsning i hemmen bäst ska gå till. En stor mängd sådana texter har publicerats av forskare, intellektuella, författare och kritiker, samt professionella grupper som t.ex. lärare och bibliotekarier. I projektet analyseras läsinstruktioner från tre tidsperioder: välfärdssamhällets begynnelse ca 1930-1940-talen, det fullt utbyggda välfärdssamhället ca 1960-1970-talen, samt det förändrade välfärdssamhället ca 2000-2010-talen. Texterna kommer att analyseras med fokus på hur läsare i hemmen beskrivs, vilken typ av litteratur och genrer som beskrivs som bra eller mindre bra, vilken typ av vetenskaplig kunskap som underbygger argument, samt vilka effekter formandet av ideal läsning i hemmet får för människors liv. \n","en":"The purpose of the project is to create an understanding of how domestic reading practices were shaped and made possible in the Swedish welfare society. Sweden has a long-standing tradition of the governing of domestic reading practices through explicit and implicit policy targeting households and families. However, this type of governing has been unproblematised, both as a policy practice and as an object of research. Furthermore, in current educational, civic and political debate, the “right” kind of reading practices are described as something that inevitably will result in economic prosperity, cognitive development, cultural enhancement and social mobility for Sweden as a country, as well as for its inhabitants. This project will critically examine this notion. \n\nA discourse analytical methodology will be used to analyse how domestic reading practices are shaped. The main empirical material consists of texts by prominent public educators and authors, family journals, and literature recommendations for children and adults. The project analyses material from three time periods: 1) The initiation of the welfare state in the 1930s-1940s, 2) the peak of the welfare state in the 1960s-1970s, and 3) the transformed welfare state in the 2000s-2010s. The project will shed light on how the ideal domestic readers and reading materials are described, the types of scientific knowledge used to underpin the arguments, and the effects these ideals have for people's lives.\n"},"project_id":"P22-0129_RJ","identifier_short":"P22-0129","dates":{"start_date":"2023-01-01","end_date":"2025-12-31"},"organizations":[{"funding":[{"_id":5,"id":"802012-1276","sv":"Riksbankens Jubileumsfond","en":"Riksbankens Jubileumsfond"}]},{"coordinating":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]}],"people":[{"project_leaders":[{"_id":"authority-person:12613","orcid":"0000-0001-5290-3808","name":"Hedemark, Åse","role":"principal_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]}]},{"other_personnel":[{"_id":"authority-person:12613","orcid":"0000-0001-5290-3808","name":"Hedemark, Åse","affiliation":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]},{"orcid":"0000-0002-4178-0563","name":"Lundh, Anna","affiliation":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]},{"orcid":"0000-0002-6482-731X","name":"Lindsköld, Linnéa","affiliation":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]}]}],"tags":[{"_id":15901,"id":"50805","sv":"Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap","en":"Information Studies"},{"_id":11781,"id":"60204","sv":"Litteraturstudier","en":"Specific Literatures"}],"titles":{"sv":"Det lilla livets läsning: Att forma läsning i det svenska folkhemmet.\n","en":"Instructions for reading at home: The shaping of domestic reading practices in the Swedish welfare state."},"total_funding":"4476999","type_of_awards":{"sv":"Projektbidrag","en":"Project grant"},"publications":[{"id":"diva2:2067429","type":"article-journal","status":"Published","issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"title":"Att forma barns läsning i hemmet : Kontinuitet och förändring i läsningens normer och ideal från 1900-talets första hälft i jämförelse med idag","language":"swe","author":[{"family":"Hedemark","given":"Åse","ORCID":"0000-0001-5290-3808","localId":"ashed168","affiliation":[{"id":"1182","name":"Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM"}]}],"abstract":"This article explores how ideal reading practices in the home have been shaped in Sweden throughout the 20th century. Previous research has shown that many of today’s ideals regarding children’s reading have their roots in the early 20th century (Hedemark and Lindsköld). This article aims to deepen that understanding by analyzing so-called “reading instructions” published during the period 1916–1933. These instructive texts shaped children’s reading practices through normative guidance rather than formal regulation, thus functioning as a form of soft governance. The analysis identifies two distinct knowledge practices expressed in these instructions: one grounded in a belief in the transformative power of ”good” reading and its positive aesthetic and moral effects; the other based on scientific and professional reasoning, where the right kind of reading was considered a tool for promoting children’s healthy development. A comparative discussion shows that several ideals from the first half of the twentieth century have been preserved and remain influential today. Norms articulated in these historical instructions – such as the emphasis on deep reading, oral storytelling, and parental responsibility, particularly that of mothers – continue to resonate in contemporary debates, policies, and reading promotion practices. By situating these continuities and changes within their historical and ideological contexts, the study contributes to an understanding of how normative expectations surrounding reading persist and evolve over time. While the societal problems that reading is expected to solve have varied over time, the hopes attached to what ideal reading can achieve have remained strikingly constant across decades.","DOI":"10.14811/clr.v49.1093","NBN":"urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-588692","volume":"49","page":"1-21","container-title":"Barnboken","ISSN":"2000-4389","keyword":"reading practices; children; norms of reading; reading politics; reading instructions; critical analysis","publisher":"The Swedish Institute for Children's Books","published":[{"raw":"2026-06-08T08:21:00.000+02:00"}],"created":[{"raw":"2026-06-08T08:21:44.062+02:00"}],"updated":[{"raw":"2026-06-08T13:27:00.321+02:00"}],"URL":"https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-588692"}],"links":[{"type":"pid","link":"https://hb.diva-portal.org/smash/api/project/swecris/project:9400"}]}]