Analysis of an academic genre

Abstract

This article begins with some reflections on the notion of genre as used in discourse analysis and aims to make a distinction between two types of genre — conversational genres and instituted genres. Varying levels can be distinguished in the range of instituted genres: from genres deprived of any authorship to genres in which a single author partly defines the frame of the communicative event. However, this article deals mainly with a genre-based analysis of an instituted genre, a report on the thesis defence meeting ( soutenance de thèse), as practised in French academic institutions. This genre is interesting for discourse analysts, not only because it is closely linked to scientific research communities, but also because it implies an original configuration of authorship and triggers indirect interpretation strategies.