The discursive construction of ethnic hierarchies in textbooks in a time of post-conflict reconciliation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study critically examines the discursive reconstruction of ethnic hierarchies in English language textbooks used in public schools in post-conflict Sri Lanka. Set against a social and political backdrop of larger nation state-building and national reconciliation taking place in Sri Lanka after it ended a three-decade ethnic conflict, this paper critically analyses English language textbooks used to prepare students for standardised high-stake national examinations. While there are no overt instances of discrimination, the findings of this critical discourse analysis highlights exclusion and the marginal representation of minorities, their voices, histories and cultures. The overwhelming presence of the majority Sinhalese asserts and conforms their dominance over other ethnic communities while relegating the minorities to a subordinate position leading to the education of majority students in an ideology that asserts their dominance and superiority while minority children are exposed to educational material that affirms their subordinate position in society.