Textbook Economics: zur Wissenschaftssoziologie eines wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Genres
In: Prokla: Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft, Band 41, Heft 3, S. 369-387
ISSN: 2700-0311
"The paper argues that introductory textbooks in economics are an important object of inquiry. Although the knowledge presented in this type of literature often does not cover the research frontiers of the discipline, economics textbooks are influential media of the external communication of mainstream economics as well as agents of academic socialization on the inside. Therefore, they need to be analysed in terms of content and rhetorical strategies, a task that is not identical with the general critique of neoclassical economics. A case study is undertaken to identify symptomatic and problematic framings of the bodies of knowledge in three popular textbooks. The final section contextualizes the findings and poses further research questions." (author's abstract)