Bygga broar mellan kulturer
En studie av skönlitteratur, identitet och integrationsprocess
The aim of this Master?s thesis is to explore the meaning of literature forliterate immigrants in regards to identity and integration. The study is based onqualitative interviews with eight Swedes of various backgrounds, but with thecommon experience of an immigration process. In addition to being migrants, therespondents are also public library users who have an interest in literature and whoread literature during their leisure time. To analyze the empirical material ananalytical framework, consisting of a number of analytical concepts from Libraryand Information Science, Literature Science, and Sociology, has been used. Theresults show that literary reading and public libraries in many ways have been ofgreat importance to respondents during their integration processes. In addition, thestudy shows that, through what literature professor Anders Pettersson callsAnalogic Thinking associated with literature reading, the respondents create apersonal understanding of the culture within which the text is written. Thisunderstanding includes practical cultural knowledge, as well as empathic insightinto the human mind.