The Discourse of History A Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective

Taking a Systemic Functional Linguistic perspective, this book explores how language builds our knowledge about the past and gives value to historical events, thereby shaping contemporary culture. It brings together cutting-edge research from an international team of scholars to provide a detailed study of texts from three different world languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese) ? revealing how the discourse of history is constructed in these languages. Each chapter provides examples and step-by-step analyses of how knowledge and value are constructed in history texts, drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics to develop theory and description in relation to text analysis. It also makes connections with disciplinary literacy and history education, showing how linguistic ?ndings can bene?t the teaching and learning of historical literacy. Providing theoretical and analytical foundations for studies of the discourse of history, it is essential reading for anyone interested in literacy, discourse analysis, and language description.

1. Building historical knowledge through language: a systemic functional linguistic perspective Jing Hao and J. R. Martin; 2. Cultivating a critical gaze: managing technicality in ancient history teaching Jing Hao and J. R. Martin; 3. Cultivating the value of democracy in history teaching Jing Hao and J. R. Martin; 4. Interpreting history: valuing events in a post-colonial world Y. J. Doran; 5. Coordinating meaning: scaffolding teaching/learning in pedagogic discourse J. R. Martin; 6. explaining what happened: logical metaphors in spanish history textbooks Natalia Leiva; 7. Negotiating values through historical evidence Teresa Oteíza and Claudia Castro; 8. Historical empathy: learning to care about others' suffering through film Mariana Achugar; 9. History in arts: exploring the past to cultivate students' gaze Margarita Vidal Lizama; 10. Describing and taxonomising the phenomena of a glorious past Jing Hao and Pin Wang; 11. Representing minority history in a multi-ethnic country Dongbing Zhang; 12. Expressing attitudes in ancient chinese history Pin Wang.

Jing Hao is Assistant Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research explores knowledge building in English and Mandarin Chinese and the applications of linguistic understandings to language education and academic literacy. Recent publications include Analysing Scientific Discourse from a Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective (Routledge, 2020).
J. R. Martin is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. His research interests include systemic theory, functional grammar, discourse semantics, register, genre, multimodality, and critical discourse analysis. Professor Martin was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1998 and was Head of its Linguistics Section from 2010–2012. In 2003, he was awarded a Centenary Medal for his services to Linguistics and Philology.