Critical genre analysis: Theoretical preliminaries

Abstract

Genre theory has generally focused on the analysis of generic constructs with some attention to the contexts in which such genres are produced, interpreted, and used, often giving the impression as if producing and interpreting genres is an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. As a consequence, there has been very little attention paid to professional practice, which is the ultimate objective of these discursive activities. It is thus necessary to develop a more comprehensive and multiperspective genre analytical framework to analyze interdiscursive performance in professional practice. In this paper, I propose such a multiperspective critical genre analytical framework and attempt to discuss some of the key theoretical perspectives underlying critical genre theory.