This master thesis is discussing ten pony books from 2006 in relation to the heterosexual matrix. It contains a rather extensive research overview regarding horse riding from a gender perspective, pony books, traditional feminist studies of girls? books and queer readings of girls? and children?s literature. The aim of the empirical study is two folded; firstly to show how the girl protagonists? horse riding is presented in terms of masculinity and femininity (as defined by Natalie Koivula), secondly to analyze the relations between the girls appearing in the books from a queer perspective attempting to find some queer leakage in the depictions.

The aim of this master thesis is to examine how female identity is formed in two novels and two short stories from the 1880?s. As a framework we rely on the method outlined by Pierre Bourdieu when he approaches the cultural and social worlds through the concept of fields. To understand the female position during that time we use Michel Foucault?s work about the history of sex, Thomas Laqueur?s theories about the rise of sexes and Karin Johannisson?s study about the exploration of the dark continent (i.e.

This thesis explores the position of book blogs in the literary system through Robert Escarpit's socio-literary model of the book market. Simultaneously the thesis serves as a test for Escarpit's theory: by actively applying his theory and model to a very new and contemporary actor on the book market I hoped to reach or confirm new insights into the usefulness and validity of Escarpit's work for contemporary socio-literary studies.Three book blogs were selected for the analysis and interviews were carried out with the authors. The interview questions were formulated specifically for the purpose of extracting the kind of information necessary for an analysis using Escarpit?s theory. As a complement to the interviews, statistics on the type of books reviewed on the blogs were also compiled.

Today, the definition of literature has changed. Walter J. Ong talks about the secondary spoken language that has surfaced as a result of new technical innovations to our writing tools. This also transforms our attitude towards literature and we can see a return to literature based on verbal characteristics. According to Hans Hertel the verbal renaissance reflects a modern man need to come closer to each other and create togetherness.

This master thesis deals with the Nobel Prize and highbrow culture as portrayed in Karin Alvtegen?s Skugga. From a sociology of literature perspective, it aims to analyze how these highbrow themes can be understood in relation to Alvtegen?s position in the literary field as a lowbrow crime novelist. The method used is hermeneutic, and the analysis is based on two theoretical models: Pierre Bourdieu?s cultural sociology, and the postmodern tradition where the distinction high/low and its traditional hierarchy is said to be decomposed.

The aim of this thesis is to study the market for fantastic fiction in Sweden, focusing on the minor publishers and their relationship with the three major publishing groups. The fantastic fiction in Swedish today are generally dominated by bestselling anglo-american authors, especially at the major publishers. The selection of fantastic fiction that is not originally in English and that diverges from the classic, epic high fantasy is often provided by minor publishers. By researching the range of fantastic fiction in Sweden today, and combining that research with qualitative interviews with informants from five minor publishers and Sweden's largest book shop for fantastic fiction, I wish to examine if the minor publishers provide an important alternative for Swedish readers of fantastic fiction. I also intend to investigate whether those publishers actively try to broaden the Swedish market and if they see themselves as a complement and an alternative rather than competing with the major publishers.This is a study in sociology of literature, focusing on a literary genre that is generally regarded as popular or trivial literature.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine how the literature criticism are in the Swedish media in the reception of the novel Mosquitoes and tigers from 2007 written by the Swedish author Maja Lundgren. A second aim is to examine how master suppression techniques have been used by the literature critics in the newspaper debate. This qualitative study is based upon a total of 52 articles and reviews from five big Swedish newspapers. The theoretical approach, literature criticism, mainly originates from the Swedish professor in Literature Science Tomas Forser and the literature scholar Gunnar Hansson.

In public libraries there seems to be an unspoken consensus on what literary quality is. At the same time librarians are always eager to express the opinion that quality lies in the eye of the beholder. Quality is, it is said, something that you don t have to define. But at the same time it s up to everyone to decide what quality means to them. What I have been missing from the discussion in libraries about literary quality is a theoretical awareness about what it means to divide literature into higher and lower spheres.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to examine how The Trilogy of Pippi Longstocking, written by the author Astrid Lindgren, has been received by the critics in the Swedish daily press. A second aim is to examine how the critics could be of importance for the consecration of Pippi as a literary character. The study is mainly based on reviews from the daily press with nationwide coverage. The theoretical framework consists of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu?s theories of the literary field, and the method of the reviews is a qualitative text analysis.

The purpose of this thesis is to form an idea about the qualitative value and meaning of reading fiction in a psychological perspective and over a lifetime. Seven women, 68-79 years old, were interviewed about their reading habits of fiction in their lifetime. The material is presented as life stories. I use an inter-nordic research project called the SKRIN project which looks upon reading habits from an individualistic and psychological perspective. I also refer to an American study which focus on reading development with roles readers take in different ages of life written by J A Appleyard.

Det förväntas att var tredje person i Sverige någon gång under sin livstid kommer att drabbas av cancer. Upplevelserna av att leva med en cancersjukdom är individuella då patienter är unika individer bestående av kropp, själ och ande. Det lidande cancersjukdomen medför kan leda till att patienterna ifrågasätter sin egen tillvaro på ett biologiskt, psykologiskt och existentiellt plan. För att sjuksköterskor skall kunna ge god omvårdnad till cancersjuka patienter krävs det att de får en ökad förståelse för patienternas livsvärldar. Syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa patienters upplevelser av att leva med obotlig cancersjukdom när livets slut är nära.

This essay focuses on the reception of Yahya Hassan?s debut YAHYA HASSAN in Swedish media, mainly daily newspapers. Following the work of Magnus Nilsson it analyzes the ?reading strategy of the politics of identity? in ?immigrant literature? and outlines structural racism in the literary scene. By bringing attention to the critics? use of this reading strategy, it is possible to unveil the ?ethnic filter? through which literature by Swedish authors with a ?non-Swedish identity? is being read in contemporary Swedish literary criticism.

The main objective of this essay is to present the views of nine Swedish publishers and four other agents in the literary field regarding the possibilities of and obstacles to publishing fiction in an electronic format. Furthermore, whether or not electronic publishing is today actually a viable alternative. A substantial part of the essay functions as background to our interview findings and is based primarily on material originating from the Sociology of Literature field. The introductory chapter expounds the methodological and theoretical basis of the essay and is followed by a chapter placing our study in a larger, international media, context. Chapter three deals with the past decades? restructuring of the publishing sector, the professional functions involved in traditional publishing and Pierre Bourdieu?s theories on the cultural and economic forces at work in the literary field.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to examine the portrayals of class in four Swedish contemporary novels that have been mentioned as working class literature in the literary public sphere. During the 20th century, society has undergone vast changes due to globalization and technology development. The rise in standards of living for most people in the Western societies has led to changed consumption patterns. In consequence, there has been increased emphasis given to cultural rather than materialist explanations of social stratification.

Within the Swedish school and the public library communities it is generally held as a truth that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability of the reader. This opinion is also expressed in political guiding documents for the school system and cultural sector. This paper's main hypothesis is that there is no assembled theoretic ground for the statement that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability. The investigation consists of two parts, the first being theoretical and the second empirical. Definitions of what empathy and reading is, are reviewed in the first part.