Dissertation: Language Education and Identity Formation – Uncovering Dominant Narratives and Alternative Identities in Pakistani Textbooks and Pedagogy (Shah)
Language textbooks and pedagogy are not neutral. They tend to shape learners’ worldviews and identities in line with dominant nation-state and global narratives. Yet, the dominant narrative is also characterized by discursive breaks, tensions, and possibilities for negotiation and alternative identities.
According to Shah’s findings, Pakistani language textbooks on one hand serve as ideological apparatuses to promote a national narrative and construct a highly gendered, classed, and religiously coded view of identity based on a patriarchal framing of Islam and intersecting power relations.
“On the other hand, the textbooks also include reference to egalitarian discourses relating to gendered, ethnic and religious identities, thus contributing to shaping the dual nature of English language textbooks in Pakistani schools”, Shah comments.
Pedagogically, teachers take on conflicting positions and views in relation to institutionalized knowledge encoded in textbooks to navigate dominant ideologies, political sensitivities, and colonial legacies. Their strategic relationship to textbooks allows pedagogy to function as an intellectual tool to counter privileged representations and value epistemic diversity in classes.
Opening a space for the diverse ’South’
According to Shah, in applied linguistics, it is important to question the dominance of the Global North and recognize the diverse perspectives and knowledge systems of the Global South to avoid exclusion and bias in academic thinking.
“Feminist research in critical discourse studies (CDS), in particular, should engage with the often-overlooked voices from the Global South”, Shah comments.
Waqar Ali Shah defends the doctoral dissertation ‘’Discursive normativities and ruptures in ELT textbooks and pedagogy in Pakistan: A Southern critical discourse studies perspective’’ on June 25, 2025, at 12 in Seminarium building, auditorium S212 at the University of Jyväskylä. The opponent is Germán Canale (Universidad de la República, Uruguay) and the custos is Tarja Nikula-Jäntti (University of Jyväskylä, Finland). The public examination of the dissertation is held in English.
The event can be followed online: https://r.jyu.fi/dissertation-shah-250625
The dissertation is available at JYX archive: https://jyx.jyu.fi/jyx/Record/jyx_123456789_102693
For more information:
Waqar Ali Shah
+358417917074
