On 12 June 2026, Oana Carciu gave a plenary lecture at the 18th annual conference of the Norwegian Forum for English for Academic Purposes (NFEAP), held at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University in Oslo, Norway. The conference theme was “EAP and Mythologies.” Below is the abstract of her keynote.
Genre Networks: A Generative Myth? Towards a Genre Interconnections Perspective in Research and Teaching (Author: Oana Maria Carciu)
Genre network theory (GNT, Pérez-Llantada, 2025) proposes that in digital environments, academic genres operate as interconnected nodes in complex, adaptive systems, rather than as isolated text types. This talk suggests that “genre network” is a generative myth for EAP: a conceptual framework that enables a holistic account of genre-based academic and research communication in the digital age.
This talk proceeds in three parts. First, I review scholarship on genre research and teaching, tracing the shift from single-genre analysis toward a network-oriented perspective. Second, I present findings from a recent corpus study of add-on genres accompanying the research article: impact statements and plain language summaries. I examine how linguistic resources are redistributed and reorganized in the network to address different audiences, and I address the methodological challenges specific to working with networked rather than single genres (e.g., corpus compilation online, representativity, balance, among others). Third, I discuss the implications of a genre network perspective for EAP practice. Reframing genre pedagogy around interconnected genres requires developing academic writers’ capacity to craft, navigate, and respond to genre networks rather than master isolated genres through a genre network awareness-raising approach.