Diverse Representation in Novels : A Study of Novels Available for English Teaching in Upper Secondary School

Sammanfattning

This essay studies representation of diversity amongst novels available for English subject teaching at five upper secondary schools in Örebro municipality and Sydnärkes Utbildningsförbund. Using a quantitative analysis, the study examines to what extent these novels are written by authors, or contain characters, of different ethnic identities, gender identities, and/or sexual orientations, and which overarching thematic concerns appear in the novels. The results show a wide diversity amongst the authors and characters and identifies 21 overarching thematic concerns. There is a large diversity of ethnic identities amongst the authors, with all but one continent represented, even though the majority of authors are white American or white British. As for the characters, the majority is white American or white British, but all continents are represented. Regarding gender identity and sexual orientations, the vast majority of both authors and characters are implied majority cisgender and heterosexual, with a few exceptions representing queer, nonbinary, homosexuals and bisexuals. This diverse representation, however, is not reflected amongst the 12 novels that are used frequently by the teachers. These findings conclude that even though a diverse representation exists amongst the novels available for teaching, this diversity is not reflected in the most read novels.