Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren

Central agents of the institution of literature (critics, authors, scholars) find it increasingly hard to explain why reading literature is important. This leaves the field open for other interests to legitimize what was once a core value in education and the wider public sphere. One example of thi...

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Main Author: Magnus Persson
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Malmö University Press 2011-03-01
Series:Educare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://publicera.kb.se/educare/article/view/49373
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author Magnus Persson
author_facet Magnus Persson
author_sort Magnus Persson
collection DOAJ
description Central agents of the institution of literature (critics, authors, scholars) find it increasingly hard to explain why reading literature is important. This leaves the field open for other interests to legitimize what was once a core value in education and the wider public sphere. One example of this is the increased interest in the potential health effects of producing and consuming culture, including the reading and writing of literature. This article targets the phenomenon of bibliotherapy, i.e. a field and practice concerned with how literature can function as a kind of medicine, thus making the reader healthier, more harmonious etc. Three examples are scrutinized: a popular introduction to bibliotherapy from the early 60s, an anthology from 2004 with a wide range of contributors, from researchers to psychiatrists, and, finally, a “therapeutic diary” from 2010 by the famous Swedish pop singer Caroline af Ugglas and the poet and psychoanalyst Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson. What conceptions of literature and reading can be discerned in these texts? Which values and ideologies lie beneath the renewed interest in literature as a kind of medicine?
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publisher Malmö University Press
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spelling doaj-art-f86f1f2514b8412a9f21ca1a74cc8cf22025-08-20T03:42:18ZdanMalmö University PressEducare2004-51902011-03-01110.24834/educare.2011.1.1215Den friska boken och den sjuka läsarenMagnus Persson0Malmö University Central agents of the institution of literature (critics, authors, scholars) find it increasingly hard to explain why reading literature is important. This leaves the field open for other interests to legitimize what was once a core value in education and the wider public sphere. One example of this is the increased interest in the potential health effects of producing and consuming culture, including the reading and writing of literature. This article targets the phenomenon of bibliotherapy, i.e. a field and practice concerned with how literature can function as a kind of medicine, thus making the reader healthier, more harmonious etc. Three examples are scrutinized: a popular introduction to bibliotherapy from the early 60s, an anthology from 2004 with a wide range of contributors, from researchers to psychiatrists, and, finally, a “therapeutic diary” from 2010 by the famous Swedish pop singer Caroline af Ugglas and the poet and psychoanalyst Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson. What conceptions of literature and reading can be discerned in these texts? Which values and ideologies lie beneath the renewed interest in literature as a kind of medicine? https://publicera.kb.se/educare/article/view/49373bibliotherapyuses of literatureculture and healthpedagogy of literature
spellingShingle Magnus Persson
Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
Educare
bibliotherapy
uses of literature
culture and health
pedagogy of literature
title Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
title_full Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
title_fullStr Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
title_full_unstemmed Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
title_short Den friska boken och den sjuka läsaren
title_sort den friska boken och den sjuka lasaren
topic bibliotherapy
uses of literature
culture and health
pedagogy of literature
url https://publicera.kb.se/educare/article/view/49373
work_keys_str_mv AT magnuspersson denfriskabokenochdensjukalasaren