Research Genres: Explorations and Applications (review)
Research Genres: Explorations and Applications
Almost a decade ago, John Swales's book Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings (1990) became a key reference in the field of genre studies. Research Genres: Explorations and Applications is Swales's sequel to this book, providing a thorough and contemporary update of developments in this field. As in Genre Analysis, Swales skilfully blends extensive knowledge in this area with detailed examples drawn from a variety of sources, including the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE). His writing is personal, honest, and humorous and fully captures the influence of genres on the research world.
Swales divides his book into seven interconnected sections. Chapter 1 looks at the evolution of the concept of genre studies, tracing its interactions and growing importance within fields related to language teaching and the development of communication skills. Chapter 2 discusses the impact of the increasing dominance of English research genres in the international research world, especially for non-native English speakers. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth look at current theoretical and methodological issues related to genre analysis. In this chapter, Swales explores issues related to author agency, the right to interpret genres, and an interesting analysis of the question of discoursal silence, especially in methodological accounts of research investigations. Additionally, Swales presents a review of the varied metaphors that can be used to define and explore genres. Whether genres are seen as frames, standards, biological species, families, institutions, or speech acts, each metaphor is clearly explained, as is the unique focus it offers researchers. The general framework for genre studies having been situated in the first three chapters, chapters 4, 5, and 6 introduce specific studies of key research genres in various disciplines, including the PhD dissertation, the dissertation defence, and various forms of research [End Page 349] meetings and research talks. Swales also provides an updated analysis of the research article and its sub-genres, including a look at the genre of shorter written communications. In the final chapter, Swales concludes with a brief overview of critical approaches to teaching with genres and the implications of contrastive rhetoric and applied corpus linguistics.
There is much to learn as Swales guides us through the world of research genres. We note, for example, his conceptualization of genres as parts of chains, sets, and networks often in hierarchical relationship to each other. This approach expands the focus of genre studies to include 'occluded' genres that have traditionally received less attention in the literature. Also significant is his emphasis on the need to study in greater detail the role of oral genres as vital elements in the chain of research genres. Finally, Swales highlights well the value of questioning fixed descriptions of genres' structures and purposes. He recognizes the need to generalize, but he warns that genre analysis should be characterized less as a provider of templates to be followed and more as a heuristic tool designed to facilitate our understanding of the fluid and ever-evolving nature of genres.
In light of the vast number of works published on academic discourse and research genres, Swales does an outstanding job of covering the field, offering a broad focus on a wide range of disciplines. It should be noted, however, that his focus is more discourse oriented than socio-historical in nature. As a consequence, perhaps, although he does address critical approaches to research genres at times, issues such as the ideological roots of genres and the role of power and resistance in the teaching of genres could be explored in greater depth. More, for example, could be done to problematize and question the positioning of Anglo-American genres as dominant in the research world and the advantages this affords some over others. Similarly, Swales justly emphasizes the similar difficulties non-native and native novice writers face in acquiring genres, but there is less discussion of the impact of race, gender, and social status in providing very different resources and levels of access to non-native speakers and...
