Perceptions and values of the audiobook in Swedish media
Submitted by:
Annie Sjöö
Abstract:
This presentation is part of a PhD-project with the overall aim of investigating the audiobook’s place in education seeking to deepen knowledge about audiobooks as a medium and audio-reading strategies inside and outside the classroom. The presentation will focus on a work-in-progress article examining perceptions and values of the audiobook that have emerged in Swedish media.
Audiobooks have become increasingly popular, and statistics show that sales have increased with 13,3% in Sweden in 2021 (Wikberg 2022). In parallel, its status in society is getting closer to the one of the printed book (Tanderup Linkis & Pennlert 2022). Although research on the role and function of audiobooks has increased in recent years (see for example Berglund, 2024; Tattersall Wallin, 2022; Tanderup Linkis & Pennlert, 2022) few studies have an educational focus on this issue. Because of media development, audiobooks are an increasingly common medium for literature in society, but in schools there is limited knowledge and uncertainty about which approach(es) to adopt. Previously, this activity was only considered for students in need of support in their reading, but as audiobook reading increases outside of school, it is also moving into the classroom.
Audiobooks are frequently discussed in the Swedish daily press (see Pennlert, 2018).
In these debates, various actors, including school actors, participate and contribute to creating perceptions of the audiobook format and its use among different groups in society. In my work-in-progress article, I am examining articles collected from four major Swedish newspapers and magazines with an educational approach. The data is analyzed through a critical discourse analysis method (Idevall Hagren & Westberg, 2024), with the aim of gaining insight of perceptions and values that are expressed, implicitly and explicitly, concerning the audiobook as a reading format inside and outside school.
References:
Berglund, K. (2024). Reading Audio Readers – Book consumption in the streaming age. Bloomsbury
Idevall Hagren, K. & Westerberg, G. (2024). Kritisk diskursanalys – En språkvetenskaplig introduktion. Studentlitteratur.
Pennlert, J. (2018, 22-23 oktober). Litteratur genom örat: ett pilotprojekt om ljudbokens potential och begränsningar. [Paper presentation] Mötesplats forskning - Profession, Växjö, Sverige. http://hb.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1271768/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Pennlert, J. & Tanderup Linkis, S. (2022) ”En helt annan upplevelse”: Ljudbokens band till sina läsare. Tidskrift för litteraturvetenskap, Vol. 52, no 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54797/tfl.v52i1.2227
Tattersall Wallin, E. (2022) Sound reading: Exploring and conceptualizing audiobook practices among young adults. [Doktorsavhandling, Högskolan i Borås] http://hb.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1626374/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Wikberg, E. (2022) Bokföräljningsstatistiken helåret 2021. Svenska bokhandlarföreningen och Svenska förläggareföreningen. https://forlaggare.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Bokforsaljningsstatstiken-Helaret-2021.pdf
BIO (52/100 words)
Annie Sjöö is a PhD student in pedagogy at Jönköping University and a part of the national graduate school Culturally Empowering Education through Language and Literature. Her former role as a teacher in upper secondary school has inspired and influenced her interest in doing research about literacy, reading and audiobooks.
Contact information:
E-mail: annie.sjoo@ju.se
Phone: +4636 10 15 97
Jönköping University - Department of Language, Aesthetic Learning and Literature, School of Education and Communication