Insights Into Academic Genres

This volume presents the latest research of an international group of scholars, engaged in the analysis of academic discourse from a genre-oriented perspective. The area covered by this volume is a central one, as in the last few years important developments in research on academic discourse have not only concerned the more traditional genres, but, as well, generic innovations promoted by the new technologies, employed both in the presentation of research results and in their dissemination to a wider community by means of popularising and teaching activities.
These innovations have not only favoured important changes in existing genres and the creation of new ones to meet emerging needs of the academic community, but have also promoted a serious discussion about the construct of genre itself.
The various investigations gathered in this volume provide several examples of the complexity and flexibility of genres, which have shown to be subject to a continuous tension between stability and change as well as between convention and innovation.

Carol Berkenkotter is Professor of Rhetoric and Communication in the Department of Writing Studies, University of Minnesota. In 1995 she published (with Thomas N. Huckin) Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication: Cognition/Culture/Power. Her current research interests include the influence of digital technology on ’emergent genres’ of the Internet, such as blogs, wikis, and Facebook.
Vijay K. Bhatia has recently retired as Professor from the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include applied genre analysis; ESP and Professional Communication; cross-cultural variation in professional discourses. His work on genre analysis includes two books, Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings (1993) and Worlds of Written Discourse: A Genre-based View (2004).
Maurizio Gotti is Professor of English and Director of the Research Centre on Specialized Languages (CERLIS) at the University of Bergamo. His main research areas are the features and origins of specialized discourse, English syntax and English lexicography. He is a member of the Editorial Board of national and international journals, and edits the Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang.