Religion för vem? : En genusanalys av hinduismen i läromedel

The aim of this study is to analyze Hinduism in upper secondary school textbooks using a gender-based perspective. The specific material used consists of four textbooks, whereof two are published prior to the curriculum Lgy 11 and two are published after Lgy 11. In order to analyze the textbooks the following methods are used: content analysis, picture analysis and comparative analysis. First, the contents and pictures of the textbooks are analyzed using theories on gender. After this analysis the results are compared to the relevant curriculum and its guidelines for the analyzed subject. To complement this analysis a further comparison is made between the results of the two kinds of textbooks in order to determine whether any similarities or differences exist. The results show that men are represented more often than women in the chapters on Hinduism and that women are found to be represented more sparsely and separately from their male counterparts. The study also show that Lgy 11 doesn't emphasize gender very strongly as a part of the mandatory guidelines and that this can be a plausible explanation for the lack of female representation in the textbooks. Despite the difference between the two curricula there is no palpable difference between the older and the newer textbooks