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phd_burwoodjj.pdf
Doctoral thesis

Social studies textbooks, categorization, and Francophone counterpower : a Swiss-Canadian comparison focusing on Bern & New Brunswick (1960-2020)

BHT

  • Fribourg (Switzerland), 2026

1 ressource en ligne (365 pages) ; 1 fichier pdf

Thèse: Université de Fribourg (Suisse), 2026

diversité sociale
manuels scolaires
curricula
minorités linguistiques
bilinguisme
représentations
inégalités
intersectionnalité
contre-pouvoir
eurocentrisme
English French The focus of this study is to examine how representations of social diversity evolved in prescribed textbooks and curricula between 1960 and 2020 in two officially bilingual regions with structurally disadvantaged Francophone minorities: New Brunswick (Canada) and the Swiss canton of Bern, which historically included the territory of the later canton of Jura. Despite markedly different historical and institutional contexts, comparable structural limitations emerge in both cases. In each region, Francophone groups developed forms of counterpower, albeit through distinct mechanisms: ministerial autonomy in New Brunswick and intercantonal cooperation in Switzerland. However, such forms of ideological counterpower were later constrained in textbook production by market forces, harmonization processes, and other systemic factors. Social categories such as gender and ethnicity were increasingly revised, yet often remained isolated or embedded within narrative frameworks that reinforced existing power relations. Progress in one area often coincided with the silencing or displacement of conflict-laden topics in another, such as when gender equality was emphasized while socio-economic inequality was minimized or omitted. The analysis further shows that theoretical approaches such as intersectionality reach limits in textbook analysis, particularly since categories like ethnicity encompass multiple dimensions and may be represented explicitly (as in Canada) or implicitly (as in Switzerland). Ultimately, the findings call not only for a rethinking of still largely Eurocentric representations but also for greater awareness of the structural constraints imposed by textbook markets and educational governance. Cette étude analyse l’évolution des représentations de la diversité sociale (1960–2020) dans les manuels de deux régions bilingues (N.-B., Berne/Jura), montrant des limites structurelles et appelant à repenser des cadres encore eurocentriques.
Faculty
Philosophische Fakultät
Department
Departement für Zeitgeschichte
Language
  • English
Classification
Medieval and modern history
Notes
  • Bibliographie
License
CC BY-NC
Open access status
diamond
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/335263
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