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From capitalist production to neoliberal lifestyle

The visual representation of social relations in Uruguayan ELT textbooks from 1933 to 2023

ORCiD logo with link | Universidad de la República
Published online: 26 February 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.26034.can
Abstract
Textbooks provide learners with a particular version of social reality by indexing dominant discourses, values and aspirations. Situated in Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies (Machin, David. 2013. “What is Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies?” Critical Discourse Studies, 10 (4): 347–355. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), this paper analyzes the visual representation of social relations and social actors in three nationally-produced/adapted English Language Teaching series in Uruguay from 1933 to 2023. Drawing on social actor analysis (. 2008. Discourse and Social Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Ledin, Peter, and Machin, David. 2020. Introduction to Multimodal Analysis (2nd edition). Bloomsbury. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), I examine the ideological implications of these representations and how they index broader sociopolitical contexts. Findings point to differences in how social categories such as class, gender and race are foregrounded/backgrounded in each period. However, they also point to a covert ideological continuity through time: collectively, all three series consolidate a progressive shift from a capitalist to a neoliberal ideology.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Social relations in textbook discourse
  • 2.ELT textbooks in Uruguay
  • 3.About the study
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1The production of My English Book (1933–1936)
      • 4.1.1Main representational trends in My English Book
      • 4.1.2Social relations in My English Book: Natural asymmetries in social relations
    • 4.2The production of Uruguay in Focus (2003)
      • 4.2.1Main representational trends in Uruguay in Focus
      • 4.2.2Social relations in Uruguay in Focus: Universalized (heterosexual) middle-class relations
    • 4.3The production of #livinguruguay (2021–2023)
      • 4.3.1Main representational trends in #livinguruguay
      • 4.3.2Social relations in #livinguruguay: the consolidation of lifestyle identity
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (35)
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