This volume presents the latest research of an international group of scholars engaged in the
analysis of academic discourse from a genre-oriented perspective. The area covered by this
volume is a central one as in the last few years important developments in research on
academic discourse have not only concerned the more traditional genres but as well generic
innovations promoted by the new technologies employed both in the presentation of research
results and in their dissemination to a wider community by means of popularising and teaching
activities. These innovations have not only favoured important changes in existing genres and
the creation of new ones to meet emerging needs of the academic community but have also
promoted a serious discussion about the construct of genre itself. The various investigations
gathered in this volume provide several examples of the complexity and flexibility of genres
which have shown to be subject to a continuous tension between stability and change as well as
between convention and innovation.
