Colonialism, Race, and Gender: A Multimodal Analysis of an Indonesian Textbook

Abstract

This study aims to unpack the complex representation of ideology and discourses of
colonialism, race, and gender. Using social semiotic as framework, this research investigates
the meaning behind the text and images in an official history textbook published by the
Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC). The images were counted and
categorized before they were analyzed using multimodal discourse analysis. In term of visual
design and the layout of the pages in the textbook, there is ample evidence that events and
figures were depicted differently. This study also indicates a tendency of male domination in
history textbook, particularly the indigenous males. Meanwhile, the indigenous females were
given a stage in the history textbook even though it is limited.