La clase social en los libros de texto de ELE

Abstract

This article examines the discursive representations of the social class in two series of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) textbooks published in two different periods: the 1970s and the second decade of the 21st century. A critical discourse analysis was carried out to reveal the ideological connotations of textbooks in their views of the individual and society. The results show that the collection from the 1970s, influenced by Marxist approaches, places great emphasis on the division of society into two antagonistic classes: the capitalists and the working class. On the other hand, the most recent textbooks, published in a consolidation phase of neoliberalism, camouflage the existence of a class society and echo the dominant meritocratic discourse, according to which each person can accomplish their aims and fulfill their objectives, regardless of the structural inequalities of the system.

Keywords

• textbooks
• spanish as a foreign language (sfl)
• social class
• neoliberalism
• marxism