Non-fiction – fact-based literature such as reportage, history, biographies, debate books, popular science, travelogues and teaching materials – plays a crucial role in public discourse, not least in a time of deliberate disinformation.
" Knowledge is the best base on which to build arguments and society. But it doesn't speak for itself. The language that carries the knowledge forward needs care to function with the communicative force that is necessary, to become meaning-making and lead to a good human-future, knowledge-based action and a common base for the construction of society. It is about time that it received the research-oriented attention that forms the basis for the development of knowledge about the conditions and possibilities of non-fiction," says Peter Aronsson, Vice-Chancellor of Linnaeus University.
Describing factual facts in a captivating way is an art. This applies to all non-fiction, including teaching materials and the authors of teaching materials have an important task as educators of the generation of the future. Properly written, these books can give children and young people a transparent picture of the complex reality they live in and thus create a knowledge base and a societal interest to build on through life.
The agreement, which the parties recently signed, is worth a total of SEK 7.5 million. The main financier Natur & Kultur enters with SEK 1 million per year for five years, while the authors of teaching materials and the Swedish Writers' Association contribute SEK 250,000 each per year for the same amount of time.
The professorship is located at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Linnaeus University and is named the Nature and Culture Professorship in Non-fiction. The parties hope that the professorship can be announced during the autumn of 2021, with the goal of having it in place for the autumn semester 2022.
Want to know more?
Contact Hans Sternudd, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, or Ylva Dandanell , Senior Advisor, Department of External Relations.
