42 / 2015
Ksenija Šabec

Representations of Non-European World in Educational System: Textbooks as an Actor of Ethnocentric and Racist Socialization



ABSTRACT

The intention of this paper is to determine how the educational system as a significant actor in the socialization process generates ethno-/Eurocentric standpoints respectively, and racist representations of “the other”. The article is methodologically based on the social-historical and comparative method of selected theories from the research field of ethno-/Eurocentrism and racism and their reproduction in educational discourse. The author states that geography and history textbooks frequently enable the defining of potentially possible and above all exceedingly plausible situations, which leads to negative, Eurocentric and racist conclusions about Non-Europeans and migrants. This can be achieved by means of particular linguistic strategies, selection of illustrative material, and especially at the level of content and broader textual context.

KEY WORDS: ethnocentrism, racism, ideology, textbooks, Non-Europeans


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