Centre for Childhood Research in Literature, Language and Learning

The Centre for Childhood Research in Literature, Language and Learning (CHILLL) is a research network consisting of scholars in the Humanities who study children’s, YA and crossover literature and film, and children and adolescents’ language development and learning. CHILLL is a diverse research environment, where research, education and collaborations with outside sources mutually benefit each other. Through pedagogical perspectives, CHILLL also contributes to research within teacher training and education

Check out CHILLL on Facebook

For updates about CHILLL’s events and research, see CHILLL’s Facebook

Children and adolescents' learning

Several CHILLL scholars research children and adolescents' formal and informal learning in different arenas—the home, libraries, museums, schools—and through different media. As a part of this process, CHILLL establishes collaborations with other research groups both at Linnæus University and other universities.

Courses

The members of CHILLL teach courses about children and adolescent culture, and young people's learning. CHILLL offers both campus courses and online summer courses about, for example, Astrid Lindgren's works, children's and young adult literature, Game of Thrones and power, Harry Potter, and romance. Both the course about Lindgren and Harry Potter are taught in English for international students and Swedish students during the spring and autumn semesters. In addition, the members of CHILLL teach children's and young adult literature creative writing courses, such as Att skriva barnlitteratur [Writing children's literature].

A group of members from CHILLL have developed a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) called "Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It", which began in the Autumn of 2017.

Available courses

• Barn- och ungdomslitteratur, en introduktion, 7,5 hp (1LI101)
• Barn- och ungdomslitteratur, A-nivå, 30 hp (1LI100)
• Barn- och ungdomslitteratur, B-nivå, 30 hp (1LI120)
• Astrid Lindgrens författarskap, 7,5 hp (1LI115)
• Harry Potter och hans världar, 7,5 hp (1LI116)
• Harry Potter from an Intermedial Perspective, 7,5 hp (1LI116)
• Barn och skräckfantastik, 7,5 hp (1LI146)
• Bilderboken i teori och praktik, 7,5 hp (1LI124)
• Maria Gripes författarskap, 15 hp (4LI010)
• Litterär estetik i modern barn- och ungdomslitteratur, 15 hp (4LI006)
• Astrid Lindgrens författarskap, litteraturvetenskaplig fördjupning 15 hp (4LI009)
• Att skriva barnlitteratur, A-kurs, 30hp
• Att skriva barnlitteratur, B-kurs, 30 hp
• Nordisk master för språklärare med inriktning mot engelska, tyska eller franska, 120 hp
• Litteratur i språkundervisningen I, med inriktning mot engelska (4EN902), tyska (4TY902) och franska (4FR902), 10 hp
• Romance – kärleksromaner från tre decennier 7,5 hp (1LI130)
• Studier av makt i George R.R. Martins Game of Thrones 7,5 hp (1LI147)
• Barnlitteratur i förskolan 15 hp (1LI020)
• Astrid Lindgren's Works 7,5 hp (1LI108)
• Vampyrfiktion 7,5 hp (1LI125)

About Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It

For more information about the course, see the course’s Facebook page

Research

The research conducted by CHILLL's members is diverse and explores literary fiction and films for different ages. CHILLL's research addresses different perspectives on young people's learning. A small selection of CHILLL members' research topics include:

• Young people's reception of the works of Swedish author Maria Gripe (Martin Hellström)
• How teachers of the school subject Swedish perceive the role of literary fiction in upper secondary schools (Annette Årheim)
• Astrid Lindgren as a publishing editor (Helene Ehriander)
• Cognitive perspectives on fantasy literature (Malin Alkestrand)
• East German mystery novels from a gender perspective (Corina Löwe)
• Berlin and the development of the big city motif in children's and young adult literature (Corina Löwe)
• Pixi books (small inexpensive picture books) (Maria Nilson & Helene Ehriander)
• Power in Game of Thrones (Anna Höglund)

• Nationalism in Swedish children movies (Anders Åberg)
• Ecocritical perspectives on young adult dystopian novels (Åsa Nilsson Skåve)
• Sexuality and reproduction in young adult dystopian novels (Maria Nilson)
• The relationship of power between different generations in young adult dystopian novels (Malin Alkestrand)

Seminars

The CHILLL seminars (8–9 a year) invite scholars from the field of children’s literature, language and learning to present their ongoing research. The seminars offers participation at a distance as the seminars are held online.

Collaborations

CHILLL collaborates with several Swedish and international universities and faculties that are connected to children and adolescents' culture and learning. In Spring 2017, members from CHILLL visited a symposium about cognitive approaches to children's literature at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. A close collaboration with the Swedish institute for children's books (SBI) has been established since Autumn 2017, when SBI's Åsa Warnqvist became an affiliated researcher at Linnæus University. This year, CHILLL aims to expand its networks and establish new national and international opportunities for collaboration through an international symposium about diversity in children's and young adult literature.