Biodiversity as Framed in German and Swedish Upper-Secondary Biology Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Human Agency, Responsibility and Non-human Representation through a Posthumanist Lens

Sammanfattning

Aim: To critically analyse the discourses surrounding biodiversity and biodiversityloss in selected German and Swedish upper-secondary school biologytextbooks.Theory: The study is framed by posthumanist and ecofeminist theories, as well asrelational ethics, which guide the coding, analysis and interpretation of thedata.Method: These theoretical lenses are operationalised through Fairclough’s CriticalDiscourse Analysis (CDA), treating language as a social practice thatreproduces ideology.Results: Findings indicate that both German and Swedish textbooks reproduce, ratherthan challenge, anthropocentric and utilitarian views, reducing the value ofbiodiversity to ‘ecosystem services’. While Swedish textbooks superficiallytouch on care, they lack meaningful ethical engagement with the more-thanhuman.Similarly, German textbooks prioritise management and stewardshipof nature over entanglement. Both approaches cement a hierarchy of humanneeds as well as upholding a nature/human dualism. The thesis concludes thatfacing current environmental challenges requires a radical shift in textbookdesign towards more relational, ethical and inclusive perspectives.