Textbooks within Swedish for Immigrants aims to teach immigrants the Swedish language and help them understand Swedish society. But one can ask: is there a representative picture of all people in Swedish society in these textbooks? This study aims to analyze which discourses are made visible regarding what kind of people are represented in textbooks for Swedish for Immigrants. Two textbooks from different times are chosen to make a comparison, and to see what and if there has been development in the way one talks about people with non-Swedish and non-white names. The questions asked are: Who is given space in two textbooks for Swedish for Immigrants? And what kind of development has been made within this area between the years 2002 and 2021? The method used is discourse analysis based on a social constructive perspective, which means that people adopt the discourses they read and learn about, which affects the way they see society and how they interact with others. The result shows that similar discourses are found in both textbooks, where three main discourses appear: us and them, Swedish/white is the norm, and immigrants only have lower-paid jobs in society. People with non-Swedish and non-white names are not given as much space in the textbooks as people with Swedish and white names. The older textbook contains of a majority Swedish names whereas the newer textbook contains more international names, but that are considered white names. This shows that there is an us and them-discourse occurring. The us and them-discourse appear in different ways throughout the textbooks and is more implicit in the newer textbook compared to the older. Another example of this discourse is that people with non-Swedish and non-white names are often presented with where they come from, which is not the case for people with Swedish names. This shows that there is a certain way of speaking of people with non-Swedish and non-white names in society. In conclusion, there are more Swedish and white people who are given space in these textbooks for Swedish for immigrants. Considering that immigrants are the target group for these textbooks, there should be a representation of all different people in Swedish society. Seen from a social constructive perspective, immigrants who read these textbooks will adopt these discourses, which will affect how they see Swedish society and how they interact with others. The development discovered between the two textbooks and their almost 20-year difference of release is shown in the discourse of immigrants only having lower-paid jobs. The newer textbook shows no evidence of this discourse whereas it appears in the older textbook. This shows that development has been made in how society thinks of immigrants and their ability to work within any profession.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:sh-48164 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Aho, Athrin |
| Publisher | Södertörns högskola, Lärarutbildningen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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