Academic genres and literacy practices in a course of textile engineering

• Main Author: Fischer, Adriana
• Publication Date: 2010
• Other Authors: Dionísio, Maria de Lourdes
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/11557
• topic: Academic Literacy; Genres

The main goal of this text is to present preliminary data from a wider research project on academic literacies which is being developed at the University of Minho, Portugal. For this first year of research, the focus is on genres that specialise reading and writing practices in the second year Course of Textile Engineering. The current research builds on the assumption that a university course is a social and cultural context that implies specific social practices (Gee, 1999, 2001) where genres have a determinant role and play specific functions as ‘mediators’ (Bazermann & Prior, 2005). What genres are to be used to acquire and to produce knowledge? How do students cope with genres generalities and specificities? are some of the questions that guide this phase of the research. The adoption of a socio-cultural approach to literacy and genres (Lea & Street, 2006) justifies the ethnographic methodology of the research which involves, until now: document gathering (lists of texts for reading; curricular forms; instructional materials; students’ written works) and field notes; classroom observations; semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with students and teachers.