Liudmyla Pidkuimukha analyses Russian school textbooks published in 2023 as ideological tools aligned with state curricula. Drawing on Apple and Christian-Smith’s (1991, p. 2) view that textbooks reflect political, economic, and cultural agendas, she examines selected textbooks in Russian language, literature, and history. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which suggests that texts inherently carry ideological biases (Weiss & Wodak, 2003), her study identifies how these materials shape perceptions in accordance with state policy. Her analysis reveals themes such as militarisation, the revival of Soviet nostalgia, the glorification of the Russian Empire, and the portrayal of Russia as a powerful nation. Additionally, the textbooks emphasise the significance of Russian language and culture, levelling the languages of the republics. Quotes from Russian political figures, namely Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill, politicise the textbooks. Thus, the findings illustrate how these textbooks are designed to instil a specific national ideology in students.
References
Apple, M., & Christian-Smith, L. (1991). The politics of the textbook. Routledge.
Weiss, G., & Wodak, R. (Eds.). (2003). Critical discourse analysis: Theory and interdisciplinarity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dr. Liudmyla Pidkuimukha is a sociolinguist and slavist. Since May 2022, she has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Justus Liebig University of Giessen (Germany), where she investigates Russian language ideology and its connection to the Soviet past. From 2015 to 2022, she occupied the position of a senior lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine). Dr. Pidkuimukha has been a visiting scholar at various universities in Canada, Germany, and Poland. Her research interests include language policy, language ideology, bi- and multilingualism, and cultural and media studies.
Vortrag in englischer Sprache
Organisation und Moderation: Magdalena Kaltseis (Institut für Slawistik & Institut für Fachdidaktik)
Zoom-Zugangsdaten: https://tinyurl.com/5an3b6wa (Meeting-ID: 889 5962 9723, Kenncode: 986858)
Eine Vortragsreihe des Osteuropazentrums gemeinsam mit dem Institut für Slawistik