Identificación de la población en manuales escolares de geografía, Colombia(1970-1990)

Abstract

In order to analyze the representation of the population that is promoted in the educational context of the social sciences, a study was conducted about the identification of We and Others in 15 high school geography textbooks published in Colombia between 1970 and 1990. Methodological tools proposed by Van Dijk (2008) and Wodak (2003) were used to study the ideological discourse of the social groups� identity by tracking the positive representation of We and the negative representation of Others. It is suggested that the textbooks exhibit an identification of the population mediated by the intersubjectivity of eurocentrism, which is expressed in discourses about racism, national identity, development, civilization and modernity. The population is classified hierarchically with the intellectual operations of eurocentrism according to the distribution of power in the society through categories based on the idea of race and territory. We, which receives a positive representation, constitutes the white category and the territories of Europe and Noth America. On the contrary, Others is represented negatively and is categorized as Indian, black, Latin America, Asia and Africa.