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
References:
1. Dijk T. А. Diskurs i vlast’ [Discourse and Power]. Moscow, LIBROKOM Publ., 2013. 342 p. (in Russian).
2. Matre S., Solheim R. Opening Dialogic Spaces: Teachers’ Metatalk on Writing Assessment. International Journal of Educational Research, 2016, vol. 80, pp. 188–203. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.07.001
3. Leeuwen T. Discourse and Practice: New tools for critical discourse analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 184 p.
4. Kolmogorova A. V. Legitimatsiya kak sotsiopoliticheskiy fenomen i ob”ekt diskurs-analiza [Legitimation as a Societal Phenomenon and as an Object of Discourse Analysis]. Politicheskaya lingvistika, 2018, vol. 1 (67), pp. 33–40 (in Russian).
5. Leeuwen T. Representing social action. Discourse & Society, 1995, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 81–106.
6. Reshef Y., Keim C. Bad Time Stories: Government-Union Conflicts and the Rhetoric of Legitimation Strategies. University of Toronto Press, 2014. 240 p.
7. Simmons R., Smyth J. Crisis of youth or youth in crisis? Education, employment and legitimation crisis. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2016, vol. 35, pp. 136–152. DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2016.1164470
8. Izotova N. N. Vliyaniye norm traditsionnoy yaponskoy morali na formirovaniye contsepta «schast’ye» [Influence of Traditional Japanese Moral in Formation of the HAPPINESS Concept]. Vestnik MGIMO – MGIMO Review of International Relations, 2011, no. 3, pp. 253–258 (in Russian).
9. Tanaka L. Gender, Language and Culture. A Study of Japanese Television Interview Discourse. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2004. 251 p.
10. Hamilton H., Schiffrin D., Tannen D. The Handbook of discourse analysis. Cornwall: T.J. International, 2001. 874 p.
11. Bol’shoy tolkovyy slovar’ yaponskogo yazyka Daiydzisen [Japanese Dictionary Daijisen]. URL: https://daijisen.jp/digital/ (accessed 10 June 2020).
12. Prasol A. F. O spetsifike truda i otdykha v Yaponii (kul’turologicheskiy aspekt) [A Specific of Work and Leisure in Japan (Culture Aspect)]. Izvestiya Vostochnogo instituta – Oriental Institute Jouranl, 2007, no. 14, pp. 256–269 (in Russian).
13. Nurutdinova A. R. Obrazovaniye v Yaponii: problema agressii detey i podrostkov [Education In Japan: The Problem Of Children And Adolescents Aggression]. Sotsial’naya pedagogika, 2012, no. 3, pp. 97–108 (in Russian).
14. Shirota A. Yaponskaya sistema obrazovaniya glazami direktora sredney shkoly [Japanese Education in the Eyes of a Principal] (in Russian). URL: https://www.nippon.com/ru/currents/d00012 (accessed 10 June 2020).
15. Ovchinnikov V. V. Sakura i dub [Sakura and Oak]. Moscow, 2009. 448 p. (in Russian).
16. Sosnovskaya E. A. Spetsifika moral’nogo soznaniya yapontsev [The Specific of Japanese Moral Conscience]. Eticheskaya mysl’, 2009, no. 9, pp. 146–164 (in Russian).
( 479.65 kB ) 
( 470.73 kB )
Issue: 6, 2020
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: ETHNOPEDAGOGY
Pages: 20 — 26
Downloads: 305