This course can be used towards the Instructional Dimensions major or minor requirements, or towards the Sociocultural Dimensions major or minor requirements. The course can only be used towards one of the requirements (Inst Dim major, Inst Dim minor, Socio Dim major, or Socio Dim minor).
This particular topics course is taught by Dr. Chris Tardy. Please check with the English Department to confirm who is teaching ENGL 596O each semester.
Although the term genre is often associated with literary forms, its use has expanded to texts and social practices ranging from academic research articles to political blog posts. Applied linguists, rhetoricians, and language and writing teachers have increasingly turned to genre as an important concept in understanding the relatively stable, or “stabilized-for-now,” texts (in the broadest sense) that occur in response to recurring situations—texts that are often essential for participating in academic, public, and professional environments.
In this course, we will explore contemporary genre theory and pedagogy, including questions such as how genres are created and changed over time, how genres function within and for communities, and the processes of learning to use and even exploit genres. We will draw upon various disciplinary perspectives from applied linguistics, rhetoric and composition, and education to study:
- contemporary genre theory
- research methods for studying genres and the communities in which they are used
- research into how genres are learned in classrooms and other environments
- approaches to facilitating genre learning and awareness in language and writing classrooms
May be repeated: for credit 2 times (maximum 3 enrollments)
Identical to: SLAT 596O