Images of antiracism and the crisis of white patriarchy in Swedish primary school textbooks

This chapter starts with a textbook evaluation that was originally carried out by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate in 2010, focusing on fundamental values in chemistry textbooks used in 14 primary schools (students aged 10–11 years). The aim is to discuss the results of this analysis in relation to national values and a national (Swedish) self-image, with respect to certain patterns and perceptions that were discernible in the textbook material, showing some cultural identities and discourses. In addition, parts of the material that were not included in the official report are presented in this chapter. The method used is eclectically used discourse analysis carried out within the fields of critical race and whiteness studies, as well as in relation to worldwide social changes, sometimes referred to as the crisis of multiculturalism, or the end of patriarchy. The first image to be identified in the textbook material, that was the foundation of the evaluation, is a so called reverse gender hierarchy, where men tend to be subordinated, whereas the second image is an imbedded white structure in the textbooks.