Communication ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 5-9-2018

Abstract

The study focused on discourses in a study abroad textbook titled Realidades Culturales de Argentina which was designed for students from the United States studying abroad in Argentina. The aim was to understand what educational texts in (trans)national spaces such as study abroad programs, are expecting of students in relation to communicative practices that extend beyond language learning. The study used a critical discourse analysis approach to deconstruct first the expectations of the students and second how these expectations worked in the (re)construction of (trans)national ideologies. Examining four recurring discursive practices in the textbook demonstrated that students were expected to prioritize certain knowledges of communicative practices which were oriented towards the ‘West' and patriarchal male figure. Through key epistemological renderings which normalize geo-body orientations, (trans)national western and patriarchal ideologies are (re)constructed through the expectations outlined for the students. Ultimately, students are provided further agency and expected to learn how to continue (re)orienting dominant understandings of geographies, communication, and sociopolitical histories.

Language

English

Keywords

(trans)national, critical discourse analysis, ideology, curriculum, intercultural communication, study abroad

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Susana Martinez Guillem

Second Committee Member

Ilia Rodriquez

Third Committee Member

Ruth Trinidad Galvan

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