Genre

Richard Beach (rbeach who-is-at maroon.tc.umn.edu)
Wed, 28 Jan 98 18:08:25 -0600

The recent discussion of the much-used-terms, genre and discourse, raise=
s the=20
question as to how the two may interact with each other. It may be that=
genres
as systematic situated activities are embedded within contexts constitute=
d by=20
discourses with a particular ideological orientations. (Gee=D5s and Lemk=
e=D5s work=20
suggest that discourses have an ideological edge to them--they are more t=
han=20
simply ways of knowing or =D2identity tool kits;=D3 they also ways of kno=
wing or=20
tool kits that entail certain value presuppositions.). When certain gen=
res are
employed within certain discourse contexts, those genres, as situated=20
activities, may then inherit the ideological presuppositions and stances=20
operating in those contexts. =20
=09
A case in point is the application of a discourse of management to highe=
r=20
education, what Fairclough described as =D2interdiscursivity.=D3 (The r=
ecent book,
The New Work Order; Gee, Hull, & Lankshear, documents how the management=20
discourse associated with =D2fast-track capitalism=D3 is imposed on other=
domains of
life.) A former senior administrator at the University of Minnesota in=
itiated
an internal critique of tenure at that University based on the precepts o=
f a=20
management or Total Quality Management (TQM) discourse. He argued, base=
d on=20
the analysis by a lot of outside consultants, that given the need for a h=
ighly=20
flexible, mobile =D2workforce,=D3 the tenure system perpetuated a stodgy,=
outmoded=20
structure that could not change quickly enough to adopt to changes in the=
=D2real=20
world.=D3 In his presentations to other senior administrators, regents,=
and=20
legislators, he would employ what could be described as the genre of the=20
=D2business presentation=D3--a highly monologic form of slick overheads w=
ith=20
summary, bulleted points. The use of this =D2business presentation=D3 g=
enre within
this discourse context precluded exploration of complexity, including ann=
oying=20
critical questions about the applicability of a TQM model to running an a=
cademic
institution.

If genre is situated activity, then Hunt=D5s focus on the speech-act ide=
a of=20
=D2uptake=D3 (mentioned in his summary comment about the Vancouver confer=
ence) is=20
relevant to understanding how genres perhaps work within discourse contex=
ts. =20
When the administrator employed the monologic, =D2business presentation=D3=
genre to=20
other like-minded University management types, the =D2uptake=D3 was gener=
ally=20
positive. He and his audience all subscribed to a shared ideological=20
orientation. When the same genre was employed with a faculty audience, t=
he=20
=D2uptake=D3 was totally different--all hell broke loose. The faculty au=
dience=20
challenged the monologic use of this genre, seeking a more dialogic=20
interrogation related to the tensions inherent in the application of a TQ=
M=20
management discourse to academia. =20

Or, the genre of proposing a dissertation research plan may be quite dif=
ferent=20
in a positivist discourse context than in a qualitative discourse context=
. I=20
am therefore arguing that discourses mediate contexts, mediation that sha=
pes the
ways in which genres function as activity systems. Since discourses als=
o=20
constitute stances in these contexts, the =D2uptake=D3 in discourses to t=
he intended
goals of genres may differ according to the stances adopted in those cont=
exts. =20

Richard Beach
359 Peik Hall, 159 Pillsbury Dr., S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
between January 6 and April 5:
411 S. Sierra Ave., #193
Solana Beach, CA 92075
619 755-7029 or e-mail:
rbeach who-is-at maroon.tc.umn.edu