Maskulina läspraktiker genom tid och rum

Abstract

The interaction between the local place and reading practice is continuously emphasized in literacy research. Nevertheless, the significance of place has been neglected in research on working-class men’s relationship to reading. This study responds to this gap by examining working-class men from rural areas and their relationship to reading across a life span. Through life-story interviews with two working-class men in their 60s, living in the same rural woodland municipality, the article contributes to the understanding of the importance of reading in these men’s lives, and how their reader histories interact with distinctive features of the locality. The study shows that the men’s individual reader histories have been shaped by, and have shaped, the specific local and cultural contexts and surrounding discourses. Through their reading practices throughout their life courses, the men (re)construct rural working-class identities in which hunting, fishing, sports and cars constitute significant elements. However, other movements in the men’s reading practices related to place through which the men can pursue alternative masculine positions are also present. The study highlights the importance for educators to pay attention to place as a significant feature in understanding working-class males’ reading practices.