Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2008. / Med CD-ROM.

Since 2011 The Swedish Curriculum for the compulsory school from 2011 (revised2018) states that different types of text that should be taught in EFL classrooms inSweden are “Literature and other fiction” (Skolverket 37). In my essay, I examine theuse of novels in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in a few Swedishsecondary schools. What types of novels are used and what kinds of assignments aregiven to the pupils during a reading project? Are there any differences in how teachersuse novels in their classroom depending on previous experience? To find out why andhow one may use literature in the EFL classroom I made a literature review, and inorder to answer my questions about how novels are used in a few Swedish EFLclassrooms, I made a survey, consisting of a questionnaire, for EFL teachers. In my literature review I find that researchers and teacher manualspropose the use of either authentic novels or Graded Readers in the EFL classroom.The respondents of my survey agree with this as the majority of them use Young Adultnovels and Graded Readers. Most common among the respondents of the study is tolet the students talk about the novel they read together in groups, a type of assignmentthat is supported by research and teacher manuals. In my study I cannot find any solidsupport that previous experience affect the use of novels in class. / I den svenska kursplanen för engelska står det att ”skönlitteratur och annan fiktion”(Skolverket 2018, 36) ska användas i undervisningen på högstadiet. I den häruppsatsen undersöker jag hur romaner används i engelskaundervisningen på någrasvenska högstadieskolor. Vilken typ av romaner används och vilken sorts uppgifter fåreleverna arbeta med under ett läsprojekt? Finns det några skillnader i hur mananvänder romaner i undervisningen baserat på tidigare erfarenheter? För att ta redapå varför och hur man ska använda skönlitteratur i undervisningen gör jag enlitteraturgenomgång. För att besvara mina övriga frågor genomför jag en studie medhjälp av en enkät för engelskalärare.I min litteraturgenomgång visar det sig att forskare och handböcker framhålleratt autentiska romaner och s.k. Graded Readers är vad som bör användas. Min studievisar att respondenterna använde just autentiska ungdomsromaner och GradedReaders i sin undervisning. Dessutom lät majoriteten av lärarna i studien sina eleverjobba med litteraturen genom att samtala i grupper, vilket framhävdes som ettfördelaktigt arbetssätt även i litteraturgenomgången. I studien fann jag inget stöd föratt tidigare erfarenhet påverkar hur man använder romaner i sin undervisning.

The image of Northern Sweden has long been subjected to stereotyping, and the stereo­typed image of the Northerner is widely spread in various media contexts within Sweden. Historically, Norrland has been regarded as a wide wilderness, and the Norr­landic literature in turn has typically been studied in terms of the pastoral genre, the romanti­cism of the wilderness, or from an eco-critical perspective. The study of masculin­ity within modern Norrlandic literature, however, is largely overlooked, de­spite the undeniable stereotyping of Norrlandic males within other forms of media. This the­sis aims to solve this anomaly by providing insights into the creation processes of masculinity in three contemporary Norrlandic novels. In the novels Smekmånader [Honeymoons, 2017] by Mikael Berglund, Solidärer [Solidarians, 2017] by Anna Jörgensdotter, and Silvervägen [The Silver Road, 2018] by Stina Jackson, the construct of Norrlandic masculinity is examined through close-reading. The questions of how Norrlandic masculinity is constructed is examined through a theoretical framework combining the hegemonic masculinity of R. W. Connell, the gender performativity and queer studies of Judith Butler, the frontstage and backstage perspective of Erving Goffman, and the creation of emotions of Sara Ahmed, in the reading of three contemporary novels following male protagonists—each seeing their identity challenged while on a journey far away from home. Viktor of Honeymoons is constructed as a brave cry-baby or a highly sensitive person whose self is disintegrated in the absence of his wife Maija. He is furthermore constructed as a person offering emotional comfort, despite being deeply void of such comfort himself. Ingemar of Solidarians is constructed as a mummy’s boy or a dreamer who ends up as a martyr, who always requires the presence of a woman—his mother Eivor, Klara whom he is wooing, or Conxa whom he meets in the war in Spain—in order to advance from a mere lust to an actual event of action. His emotions are slightly supressed. Lelle of The Silver Road is constructed as an emotionally blunted vigilant or a nervous wreck, who readily succumbs to aggression and violence towards other men, in his lack of emotional cathexis to a physical person. He is struggling with his perceived failure in his role as a father, and is furthermore driven to action by his need of reconciling with his past. Nonetheless, none of the male protagonists exhibits a lasting hegemonic masculinity. The study concludes that the analysed novels contribute to a new form of Norrlandic literature which challenges the traditional and stereotypical ideas of rural masculinity.

In this essay the author analyses four works in the historical fiction genre: George Shipways’ Imperial Governor (1968), Lindsay Davis’ The Silver Pigs (1989), Simon Scarrow’s The Eagle’s Conquest (2001), and Adrian Goldsworthy’s Vindolanda (2017). All these works feature elements of the conquest and rule of Britain by the Roman empire. The study seeks to ascertain how the novels depict Roman imperialism and compare this to contemporary academic theoretical discourse, mainly post-colonialism and its influence on ancient studies and ancient archaeology. In this way, the study shows how the novels reflect British historical culture and the cultural memory of the Roman empire. The study has been conducted with the use of a qualitative text analysis. The results have been compared to the contemporary academic theoretical discussion. The result of this study indicates that historical fiction prior to the 1990s were mostly influenced by terminology and theoretical perspectives that are heavily tied to the 19th century British imperial projects. Postcolonial discourse, introduced in classical studies during the 1990’s, resulted in a change in perspective and the voices of the conquered peoples were considered far more frequently. The Roman imperial perspective was handled with more nuance and criticism. The result also indicates that the literary works, in line with their academic contemporary discourse, relate the discussion of ancient Roman imperialism to modern imperialism, especially British imperialism, thus affecting the British cultural memory and identity.

Female characters in novels by Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster are studied in their relationships as wives, mothers, daughters and prospective brides. The novels selected are those where the writers are concerned with families dominated by Victorian ideals. Virginia Woolf: The Voyage Out (1915), Night and Bay (1919), Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927). E.M. Forster: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907) , A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910).The socioeconomic, religious and ideological origins of the Victorian ideals are traced, esp. as they are related to the writers' family background in the tradition of English intellectual life. The central theme of the four novels by Woolf is the mother-daughter relationship which is analyzed in its components of love and resentment, often revealed in an interior monoloque. Forster's novels usually present a widowed mother with a daughter and a son. It is shown how the plot, dialogue and authorial intrusions are used to depict a liberation from the constraints of the Victorian ideals of family life. The mothers in the novels of both writers are shown to be representative of various aspects of the Victorian ideal of womanhood. The attitudes of men towards women vary from those typifying Victorian conceptions of male superiority to more modern ideals of equality and natural companionship. / digitalisering@umu

Abstract This thesis discusses and analyses a 19th century female author's vanishing from history. The study investigates social relationships as figured and described in the epistolary form, based on letters between the author herself and different members of her family. It also tries to identify the author's position and situation in her time and society according to important themes and motifs in her novels. The main purpose is not to reconstruct history, but rather to show the many complex histories that can also be described, apart from the simplified and generalized one. The aim of this study is to, from a post-structuralist perspective, analyze the position of author Marianne Lundegård-Hagberg, and her role as a performative, discursive person that history forgot.

Abstract Historical novels are widely published and read in Finland. During the last few decades both Finnish and Finland-Swedish writers alike have addressed such incendiary topics as the Finnish Civil War and the events of the Second World War. The object of the present study is Lars Sund’s Siklax trilogy: Colorado Avenue (1991), Lanthandlerskans son (1997, ’Son of a Country Shopkeeper’) and Eriks bok (2003, ’Erik’s Book’). These novels can be defined as postmodern historical novels, relatively rare as a genre in Finland and even less studied. The impact of historical novels on readers’ attitudes may be strong, and as a result it is necessary to contemplate the ways in which history is reproduced and interpreted. The present study analyses the ways Sund’s novels represent the past, their relation to historiography and the historical novel as a genre, as well as their conception of history. The aim of the study is to demonstrate what kind of connection exists between narrative techniques and representations of the past. This study utilizes narratological, intertextual and contextual approaches. Cultural narratology integrates features from both classical and postclassical narratology, in consequence the novel’s narrative structures are examined as active forces that both reflect and influence the cultural discourses of a given period. During the research process, the narrative structure of Sund’s novels has been analysed as well as intertextual allusions to other texts and to other cultural and social discourses. The narrative structure of Sund’s historical novels suffices to raise epistemological questions about the achievability and reliability of historical knowledge. The occurrences of other media on the story and discourse level, such as descriptions of paintings and photographs and filmic narration, as well as numerous intertextual allusions, accentuate the polyphony of history and the subjectivity of historical conclusions. The present study connects Lars Sund’s historical novels with the international, Nordic and domestic tradition. Additionally, the analysis of the visual features of the novels connects the study with the abounding discussion on the relationship between word and image. / Tiivistelmä Historiallisia romaaneja julkaistaan Suomessa runsaasti, ja laji on yhä lukijoiden suosiossa. Sekä suomen- että ruotsinkieliset kirjailijat ovat viime vuosikymmeninä käsitelleet maamme historian kipupisteitä, kuten kansalaissotaa ja toisen maailmansodan tapahtumia. Tutkimuksen kohteena on Lars Sundin Siklax-trilogia, jonka muodostavat romaanit Colorado Avenue 1991 (suom. Colorado Avenue 1992), Lanthandlerskans son 1997 (suom. Puodinpitäjän poika 1998) ja Eriks bok 2003 (suom. Erikin kirja 2004). Nämä teokset edustavat postmodernia historiallista romaania, jota Suomessa on kirjoitettu suhteellisen vähän ja tutkittu vielä vähemmän. Historiallisten romaanien vaikutus lukijan asenteisiin voi olla suuri, ja siksi on tarpeen pohtia myös niitä keinoja, joilla historiaa tuotetaan ja tulkitaan. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan Sundin romaanien tapoja representoida mennyttä, historiankäsitystä sekä suhdetta historiankirjoitukseen ja historiallisen romaanin lajiin. Tavoitteena on selvittää, millainen yhteys kerrontatekniikoiden ja menneisyyden representaatioiden välillä on. Tutkimuksessa yhdistyvät narratologinen, intertekstuaalinen ja kontekstuaalinen tarkastelutapa. Analyysin kohteena ovat teosten kerrontarakenteet sekä viittaussuhteet toisiin teksteihin ja muihin kulttuurisiin ja yhteiskunnallisiin diskursseihin. Lähestymistapaa kuvaa parhaiten klassisen ja postklassisen narratologian piirteitä yhdistävä kulttuurisen narratologian käsite, jossa teoksen kerronnallisia rakenteita tutkitaan sekä aikakautensa kulttuurisia diskursseja heijastavana että niihin vaikuttavana aktiivisena voimana. Sundin historialliset romaanit nostavat jo rakenteellaan esiin epistemologisia kysymyksiä tiedon saavutettavuudesta ja luotettavuudesta. Muiden medioiden, kuten elokuva-, maalaus- ja valokuvataiteen, esiintyminen niin tarinan kuin kerronnan tasolla sekä lukuisat intertekstuaaliset viittaukset korostavat historian moniäänisyyttä ja tulkintojen subjektiivisuutta. Tutkimus osallistuu kuvan ja sanan vuorovaikutuksesta käytyyn vilkkaaseen keskusteluun ja kytkee Lars Sundin historialliset romaanit osaksi niin kansainvälistä, pohjoismaista kuin kotimaista traditiota. / Abstrakt Historiska romaner publiceras det rikligt av i Finland och genren är fortfarande populär bland läsarna. Under de senaste decennierna har både finländska och finlandssvenska författare behandlat sådana nationella smärtpunkter som inbördeskriget, vinterkriget och fortsättningskriget. I denna avhandling forskas Lars Sunds Siklax-trilogi: Colorado Avenue (1991), Lanthandlerskans son (1997) och Eriks bok (2003). Dessa romaner representerar den postmoderna historiska romanen, som det till dags dato skrivits relativt litet om i Finland och ännu mindre forskats i. Historiska romaner konstruerar nationell identitet och deltar i den kulturella och politiska dialogen om det förflutna och nutiden. Deras inverkan på läsarens inställningar kan vara stark, och därför är det nödvändigt att reflektera på de medel med vilka historien produceras och uttolkas. I avhandlingen analyseras på vilket sätt det förflutna representeras i Sunds romaner; historieuppfattningen samt relationen till historieskrivningen och till den historiska romanen som genre. Syftet är att redogöra för hurdant förhållande det finns mellan berättarmetoder och representationer av det förgångna. I undersökningen förenas ett narratologiskt, intertextuellt och kontextuellt betraktelsesätt. Det gäller att analysera romanernas berättarstrukturer samt intertextuella referenser till andra texter och till andra kulturella och sociala diskurser. Betraktelsesättet skildras bäst med begreppet kulturell narratologi (cultural narratology), som förenar drag av den klassiska och postklassiska narratologin. Detta betyder att romanens narrativa strukturer granskas som en aktiv kraft, vilken både reflekterar tidens kulturella diskurser och påverkar dem. Själva konstruktionen av Sunds historiska romaner framför epistemologiska frågor om den historiska kunskapens åtkomlighet och pålitlighet. Andra mediers närvarande på historiens och på diskursens nivåer, så som beskrivningar av fotografier och målningar eller filmiskt berättande, och åtskilliga intertextuella hänvisningar, betonar historiens polyfoni och tolkningars subjektivitet. Undersökningen kopplar Lars Sunds historiska romaner till internationell, nordisk och finländsk tradition. Dessutom anknyter analysen av Sunds visuella material undersökningen till den livliga diskussionen om samspel mellan ord och bild.