Academic Scientific JournalsPoverty in the neoliberal tale of language textbook
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/bp.2023.3.04Keywords:
content analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis, textbooks, poverty, neoliberalismAbstract
This article presents the results of the critical analysis of English language textbooks. The research was focused on the textbook images of poverty to show possible contributions of educational materials to promoting a neoliberal system. The research methodology was based on content analysis realized with ATLAS.ti 7 qualitative data coding program, and Critical Discourse Analysis allowing for the analysis of discursive strategies at thematic, grammatical, lexical, and compositional levels. The analysis of the texts showed clear tendencies regarding the presentation of the problem of poverty, with privatizing responsibility for its causes and effects, marginalizing systemic solutions, a high degree of generality, objectifying people affected by poverty and presenting the issue in an optimistic light. The textbook message fits into the neoliberal story of equal opportunities for every human being, at the same time trivializing the analyzed problem and limiting the possibility of reflection on the systemic contexts of poverty.
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