The predominant response to recent refugee arrivals to Europe has been one of paranoia and fear of depersonalised masses of people disrupting Europe’s cultural and social welfare landscape, triggering (further) political crises, violence and the rise of nationalistic movements. It therefore came as no surprise that the mainstream political focus has been on tightening external European Union borders in a desperate attempt to keep them out.

The predominant response to recent refugee arrivals to Europe has been one of paranoia and fear of depersonalised masses of people disrupting Europe’s cultural and social welfare landscape, triggering (further) political crises, violence and the rise of nationalistic movements. It therefore came as no surprise that the mainstream political focus has been on tightening external European Union borders in a desperate attempt to keep them out.

The article demonstrates the main findings of critical discourse analysis of the sixteen elementary school geography textbooks regarding the discourse on the West and Europe, on the individual continents and the relations between them. The author states that a great majority of the textbooks discussed include linguistic strategies, content, mental schemas and illustrative material which lead to stereotypic, simplified, Eurocentric and racist conclusions about the non-European world and its inhabitants, migrants etc. The author states that several of the textbooks on the market for this subject do not assure the plurality of discourses and contents as a tool to achieve defined standards of knowledge.

KEYWORDS: elementary school textbooks, geography, Eurocentrism, racism, stereotypes

The article demonstrates the main findings of critical discourse analysis of the sixteen elementary school geography textbooks regarding the discourse on the West and Europe, on the individual continents and the relations between them. The author states that a great majority of the textbooks discussed include linguistic strategies, content, mental schemas and illustrative material which lead to stereotypic, simplified, Eurocentric and racist conclusions about the non-European world and its inhabitants, migrants etc. The author states that several of the textbooks on the market for this subject do not assure the plurality of discourses and contents as a tool to achieve defined standards of knowledge.

KEYWORDS: elementary school textbooks, geography, Eurocentrism, racism, stereotypes

Report is published on SLO pages.

Report is published on SLO pages.

The Global Economic Crisis and the Future of Migration: Issues and Prospects. What will Migration Look Like in 2045?, written by Professor Bimal Ghosh, is the latest follow-up to his previous book The Global Economic Crisis and Migration (Ghosh 2011) in the light of the last global financial crisis and the political changes in the Arab World.  This is a landmark work and a most insightful book, revealing the wide-ranging effects of the global economic crisis of 2008-9, political changes like the Arab Spring and the current rebalancing of the world economy on global migration. Following a critical discussion of the recession-led changes in migration patterns, practices and policies, the book details the impact of South-South and South-North migration on the changing landscape and makes a pragmatic prediction of what global migration might look like in 2045. Ghosh is an Emeritus Professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration in Bogota, Colombia. As a former director and senior consultant of the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration and other global initiatives, he has a deep understanding of the governance, policies and challenges of global migration.

The Global Economic Crisis and the Future of Migration: Issues and Prospects. What will Migration Look Like in 2045?, written by Professor Bimal Ghosh, is the latest follow-up to his previous book The Global Economic Crisis and Migration (Ghosh 2011) in the light of the last global financial crisis and the political changes in the Arab World.  This is a landmark work and a most insightful book, revealing the wide-ranging effects of the global economic crisis of 2008-9, political changes like the Arab Spring and the current rebalancing of the world economy on global migration. Following a critical discussion of the recession-led changes in migration patterns, practices and policies, the book details the impact of South-South and South-North migration on the changing landscape and makes a pragmatic prediction of what global migration might look like in 2045. Ghosh is an Emeritus Professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration in Bogota, Colombia. As a former director and senior consultant of the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration and other global initiatives, he has a deep understanding of the governance, policies and challenges of global migration.