Literature
What makes a story? How is literary history written? And what do literature and reading mean to society and culture? These are some of the questions posed in the field of literature studies.
Literature studies are conducted in the field of literature as well as in the language subjects. Literary and aesthetic theory is one of the University's profile areas. Narratology studies storytelling techniques and how stories are constructed. Fiction theory studies what distinguishes fiction from history and what fiction means to humanity, both in pre-modern and modern literature.
Another profile area is literature for children and young adults. The University has the only professor with this specialisation in the country. In collaboration with the Swedish Institute for Children's Books, we are currently working to develop a history of Swedish children's literature from the 14th century to the present – a study that has so far been lacking. Here, literature and reading will be analysed from a number of aspects, including aesthetic, cultural, social and gender aspects.
Other important research areas are pre-modern literature and intermediality. The latter is concerned with how literature interacts with media and other art forms, such as pictures, films and music. There is currently an ongoing major global project with an historical focus, which involves researchers working in various languages.
Literature researchers at Stockholm University have collaborated extensively on a national and international level. The research continuously results in book publications and articles in journals. A number of researchers have acted as critics and writers for the daily press, and are booked for public appearances and lectures.
Web editor:
Paul Parker
Last updated:
November 23, 2011
Source: Communications Office
