GENERE E POTERE NEI MANUALI DI ITALIANO LS: UNO SGUARDO DIACRONICO
GENDER AND POWER IN ITALIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS: A DIACHRONIC PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses, from the perspective of critical discourse analysis and critical pedagogy, the representation of gender hierarchy in two representative Italian as a foreign language textbooks, published between 2002 and 2019. The aim is to examine whether asymmetric power relations are reproduced or reversed through the representation of professions attributed to male and female characters, in order to obtain meaningful data about the approach adopted by the authors and publishing houses. Specifically, we aim to determine whether a progressive and egalitarian tendency in the perception and representation of women and men in the professional sphere can be identified. The analysis reveals significant differences in the approach adopted in the two textbooks and consequently in how gender hierarchies and roles in the professional sphere are constructed. Due to the absence of a gender-sensitive approach, the Qui Italia textbook reproduces and naturalises asymmetric power relations between women and men in the professional sphere. In contrast, the Dieci A1 textbook emerges as an educational material that challenges traditional gender roles in the professional sphere and offers alternative and egalitarian models. The results suggest that progressive trends regarding gender equality in educational materials have evolved over time and that a gender approach is increasingly implemented and valued.

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