Where is the subject? Rhetorical genre theory and the question of the writer

Abstract

The question in my title arises from the tension between two positions currently held in genre theory: On the one hand, purpose is attributed to the genre, whereas on the other, it is attributed to the subject, whether or not dispersed across participation in a variety of conversations. This difficulty raises an urgent question in the conception we hold of the learner. My paper surveys some recent contributions to the literature on genre and teaching in which this issue is raised. The objective of the paper is to explore the nature and the stakes of the question raised; it will not claim to answer it.