THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MYTHOPOETIC STRATEGY OF LEGITIMATION IN JAPANESE PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2020-6-20-26
Introduction. The current paper is dedicated to studying one of the 4 discursive strategies of legitimation identified by discourse analyst T. van Leeuwen, mythopoesis. The aim of the study is to reveal specific features of realization of legitimation discursive strategies and to interpret the results in the context of nature of education policy in Japan. Material and methods. The focus of our study is Japanese modern educational system and textbooks of the Course of Moral Education for elementary and secondary schools provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, MEXT. In order to uncover the legitimation strategies in the Course of Moral Education we used the method of discourse analysis and also the critical discourse analysis. Moreover, the method of content analysis and cultural linguistics method are also used. Results and discussion. All the sub-strategies of mythopoesis that was identified by T. van Leeuwen are found in textbooks. Moral tale demonstrates how protagonist achieves success relying on perseverance and diligence, which are in directly linked to the Japanese value gambari. Another story which refers to the inversion is also addresses to this value. Inversion is achieved by endowing the animals from the forest with the qualities of real social actors. The cautionary tale, in contrast, illustrates how the protagonist’s willfulness and unwillingness to obey social principles lead to his exclusion from the society. The symbolization story is an allusion of Japanese society itself with its laws and traditions. Conclusion. The analysis allows to identify the main areas of Japanese pedagogy, as well as to identify the values that are transmitted to the Japanese younger generation through pedagogical discourse. Although Japanese education is modelled after the Western countries’ system, it is still in close connection with moral standards which were the main construct of Japanese society from old centuries.
Keywords: pedagogical discourse, legitimacy, discursive strategies, discourse analysis, mythopoesis, Japanese language, education in Japan
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Issue: 6, 2020
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: ETHNOPEDAGOGY
Pages: 20 — 26
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