A naturalização do mito da democracia racial em livro didático de língua inglesa do ensino médio

Abstract

Teaching raciality and ethnic identity in schools has great social significance, since minority ethnic groups are influenced by racist discourses and practices on a daily basis. Therefore, we emphasize that democratic teaching not only embraces this racial plurality, it must also act in the construction of a positive identity for non-whites. Based on the assumption that identities are social constructions, this study aims to investigate how ethnic-racial relations and the teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African history and culture – stipulated for in Federal Law No. 10.639/2003 – are addressed in an English textbook approved by the National Textbook Program (PNLD/2021). In this sense, we aim to specifically analyze how black identity is represented in this English language textbook produced for High School. To theoretically support this investigation, we used the Pedagogy of Literacy (NEW LONDON GROUP, 1996; ROJO, 2012; KALANTZIS; COPE, 2020), particularly highlighting its contribution to the teaching of Critical Racial Literacy and, for the analysis of the textbook, we considered the Critical Genre Analysis (MOTTA-ROTH, 2008; MOTTA-ROTH; HEBERLE, 2015; FAIRCLOUGH, 1992). In order to identify to what extent and how the textbook explores ethnic-racial identities throughout its units, this qualitative research sought to examine how the verbal and non-verbal texts that compose the units instantiate these identities. That is, we aim to identify how verbal and non-verbal texts are used to teach ethnic-racial relations. Based on this premise, we focus especially on the instance of Relations proposed by Halliday and Hasan (1989), in order to point out the agency assumed by black identity in verbal texts and, for nonverbal texts, we adapt the Critical Visual Literacy matrix, proposed by Xavier (2019), since it stipulates guiding questions that develop interpretive criticality. The results showed that black racial identity occupies a relevant space in the construction of didactic units, which explore, particularly in non-verbal texts, representations in a realistic form, displaying photographs of real people while avoiding caricatures or childish figures, such as artificial cartoons. However, despite the recurrent presence of black racial identity in the units, it is little problematized and recurrently explored in harmony with other identities, building an artificial and superficial representation of these social relations, as well as corroborating for the naturalization of the racial democracy myth.