Tradition as Renewal : Critique of a Conservative Trend in Swedish Education and Cultural Politics

Abstract

This perspective article offers a critical interpretation of the recent Swedish cultural policy initiative to establish a cultural canon as well as reading lists for Swedish schools. Using Zygmunt Bauman’s (2017) concept of retrotopia and David Labaree’s (2012) concept of school syndrome, the article interprets these initiatives as part of a broader, politically conservative policy trend in Swedish education and cultural politics. The article argues that the emphasis on a cultural canon, following Bauman, can be seen as a retrotopian response to contemporary challenges, one that is based on a caricatured depiction of so-called postmodernism. This retrotopian desire, in turn, is connected to a certain kind of post-political powerlessness. By invoking Labaree, the article also argues that directing attention toward the school and its task of transmitting canonized culture and literature serves to obscure this lack of political action, instead steering the discussion toward symbolic issues