Reading and writing from textbooks in higher education: a case study from Economics

Reading and writing at university is infused by the cultural context of a particular discipline or field so that academic literacies are located, described, interpreted and studied in disciplinary contexts. This study explores the roles and functions textbooks have in the disciplinary culture of Economics in the academy, where there are many introductory‐level textbooks that are designed to formalize and standardize disciplinary induction. It uncovers how students learn to read and write in Introductory Economics, particularly when the textbook is positioned as an authoritative, canonical text, and interprets the ambiguities, unresolved tensions and anxieties concerning plagiarism that often accompany reading and writing from the textbook. Further, it scrutinizes teaching and learning from the learner's perspective to reveal the complexity of the linguistic and disciplinary demands in the form of unfamiliar discourses, genres and literacy practices a student must accommodate to be recognized as a participant in the disciplinary culture of Economics.