Läromedlens dramatik. En läromedelsstudie om legitimeringen av dramatiker och dramatiska verk i gymnasiets svenskämne

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the legitimation of dramatics in upper secondary schools textbooks for the Swedish subject. This study will show how the dramatic genre is represented in textbooks in relation to the syllabus of the Swedish subject, by answering questions of how are the legitimations expressed concerning dramatists and dramatics in the chosen textbooks, and of what similarities and differences come across in the expressed legitimations? To answer these questions this study analyses a selection of two dramatists, August Strindberg and William Shakespeare, and six dramatic texts in three Swedish textbooks.

Through the use of multimodal analysis, as laid out by Kress and van Leeuwen, the textbooks composition of images, text and tasks are analyzed. The second step in the analysis has focused on what these units mediate as a whole, employing the concepts of modus, distance, commitment and attitude. In a final step the concept of legitimation is used to the analyzed unity. The final result shows that the dramatist’s legitimation is generally expressed as strong, explicit and positive. Shakespeare is solely legitimized as strong, explicit and positive, while Strindberg’s legitimation varies between the textbooks. The legitimation of the dramatics is much more varied. The major finding is that they are generally expressed as a means for personal reflection, and the Aristotelian tradition of catharsis still shows.