The power of economic textbooks: A discourse analysis

Lukas Bäuerle

No Ök-52, Working Paper Series from Cusanus Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung, Institut für Ökonomie

Abstract: By conducting a discourse analysis (SKAD) in the field of academic economics textbooks, this paper aims at reconstructing frames and identity options offered to undergraduate students relating to the questions "Why study economics?"and "Who do I become by studying economics?". The analysis showed three major frames and respective identity offerings, all of which are contextualized theoretically, with prominent reference to the Foucauldian reflection of the science of Political Economy. Surprisingly, none of them encourages the student to think critically, as could have been expected in a pedagogical context. Taken together, economics textbooks appear as a "total structure of actions brought to bear upon possible action" (Foucault), therefore, as a genuine example of Foucauldian power structures.

Keywords: Economic education; textbook economics; discourse analysis; SKAD; Foucault; subjectivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A14 A20 A22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fle, nep-hme, nep-hpe, nep-ore, nep-pke and nep-sog
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:cuswps:oek52

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