Sebastian Lönnlöv
Doctoral Student
Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and ReligionAbout Sebastian Lönnlöv
I am a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature since 2024. My dissertation project is in the field of sociology of literature and examines perceptions of what is appropriate for children and young people to read — and thus should be made available in public libraries — in Sweden during the first half of the twentieth century.
This development concerns changing views on both the value and purpose of reading, as well as on literary suitability and the values literature is expected to convey. It is also closely connected to questions of gender, sexuality, and class. My primary source material is library press, particularly the journal Biblioteksbladet.
My supervisors are Professor Jenny Bergenmar (University of Gothenburg) and Associate Professor Christian Lenemark (University of Gothenburg).
My interest in library selection practices and attitudes toward reading is rooted in my experiences of working as a librarian, in public library and school library settings. I am also a literary critic, primarily in Svenska Dagbladet, and an editor of fiction.
During my time as a PhD candidate, I have been teaching literatry criticism and book production in InDesign, in the programmes for Editorial Practice (bachelor), Critical Studies (master) and Literary Composition (bachelor).
From 2021 to 2024, I participated in the database project Queerlit, conducted at the University of Gothenburg in collaboration with KvinnSam, GRIDH, Södertörn University, and Linnaeus University.
In addition to library (history), my research interests include LGBTQI literature, censorship, the history of medicine and psychiatry, sexuality, and gender.