Branquitude normativa no livro didático de inglês: perpetuação do racismo e manutenção de privilégios

Abstract

The National Book and Textbook Program (PNLD) is intended to ensure that textbooks distributed in Brazilian public schools comply with the legislation, guidelines and official norms related to national Education. Currently, there are curriculum policies in force that seek to recognize and value the identity, history and culture of Afro-Brazilians, in addition to combating racism and discrimination through education. Textbooks can contribute to reinforce or deconstruct racism and teaching and learning English is not left out of these discussions. Ethnic-racial issues in English textbooks have been the subject of studies in Brazil for at least two decades. However, one of the gaps identified in linguistic research on racial issues is the absence of white as a subject of study. The racial segment that gave rise to racist practices ends up being exempt from its place with regard to racial inequalities. Therefore, this qualitative research, with an interpretive nature and documental basis, aims to analyze and demonstrate 'if' and 'how' the mechanisms of whiteness are activated to reinforce white racial identity as a norm and naturalize white and Euro-American over-representation in a textbook collection of English produced in Brazil. Based on the data from the collection aimed at Elementary School, were analyzed the contents referring to the color of the people represented, the social identities of race and the way in which the status of the English language as a lingua franca and the intercultural dimension advocated by the BNCC were treated in relation to social representation and proposed discussions, attesting that, despite some positive points listed, there is still a predominance of the representation of white identity as a norm, with full citizenship and a greater diversity of professions in which they were represented, the reinforcement of the European-American white English speaker, in addition to misunderstandings and lack of depth when dealing with relevant issues for critical reflection on language learning, contrary to suggested by official documents. The results point to the legitimation of whiteness as a norm of humanity, in addition to relating the racial privileges of whites – which shape the English language as an indispensable cultural capital for mobility and social ascension – for the perpetuation of racism in textbooks.