Learning inside-out: Learning regarded as a rhizomatic activity.

Läring betraktat som en rhizomatisk aktivitet

Abstract

In many languages, such as the Norwegian, Danish, and English, the word describing learning is a verb. However, in Swedish, the word “lärande” is a noun, which through its grammatical form allows much less linguistical experimentations than the neighboring, although not fully synonymous, concept “learning” or “læring”. To experiment with the meaning of the concept, this article is introducing the verb “läring” into Swedish, by discussing it in relation to the current National Curriculum for the Compulsory school. Drawing upon Deleuze and Guattari (2012), three dimensions of “läring”, regarded as a rhizomatic activity, is thereby highlighted: “läring” as an open and uncontrolled activity, “läring” as an immanent ontological activity, and “läring” as an activity of difference. By introducing “läring” into Swedish, it is argued that a much broader understanding of what “läring” is and could be is produced, potentially more effectively embracing the complex dimensions of learning.