Bok, litteratur och läsning som synonymer. Åsikter och yttranden om litteratur i riksdagen 2000-2010

Abstract

Books, literature and reading as synonyms: opinions and statements on literature in the Swedish parliament 2000–2010

The article is a study of politicians’ views on literature based on motions and debates in the Swedish parliament 2000–2010. The aim is to investigate the political agenda for literature and the functions ascribed to literature, reading and books during the period. The first part examines the uses of the concepts literature, reading, and books and these notions are traced into ideology as well as theoretical traditions within literary studies. The ways these concepts are used has political consequences for regulations and support of litterature and book trade as a whole. Literature is throughout the period and by most speakers credited with a particular value and becomes a symbol of a better and more democratic world. This utopian vision of literature is significant as it is transformed into real-life politics and regulations.