Skönlitteratur isamhällskunskapsundervisning? : Hur läsning av skönlitteratur processas och hur lärare kan arbetamed den i klassrummet

Sammanfattning: Regarding education and literature there is a large quantity of research dedicated to the application of fictional literature in traditional reading and writing subjects, mainly language subjects such as Swedish and English. There is a much smaller proportion of research that addresses the usage of fictional literature within education at large, as well as the usage of fictional literature in subjects other than language. There is a potential in applying fictional literature in different subjects, and one of those are social science. However, the application of fictional literature in social science education is a rather unexplored area in relation to the application in language subjects. There is a void, even though the parts required to fill the void exists. The purpose of this essay has been to investigate what didactic possibilities exist in applying fictional literature to the teaching of social science in high school. By using a literature search and attempting to create a didactic framework for using literature in education of social science, the work has attempted to answer two questions which this essay has been based upon: - What does research say about applying fictional literature in education? - How can fictional literature be applied to teaching social science? By working towards answering these questions, the essay has shown that there is a large didactical potential into applying fictional literature into education in high school, and that the benefits of doing so are compatible with social science education. The most prominent benefits originate from fictional literatures potential of working as an experience to the readers, as well as the aspect of being distancing from our own world. This creates possibilities to develop certain knowledge and abilities that are clearly stated in the governing document of social science education in the Swedish school system. However, the most important thing is not what fictional literature is used – even if it is an important aspect. The most important thing is how the reading is processed, how the teacher works with the book in the classroom. From the research used in the literature search, a method of four steps has been created with the intention of helping teachers use fictional literature in the education of social science. This method and an example of how it could be used to apply fictional literature in social science education is presented based upon the dystopian book Divergent from 2011 by Veronica Roth.