Evolutions in societal values and discursive practices: their impact on genre change

The study presented in this Chapter starts from the observation that post-modern world is characterized by a very fast pace of change in all aspects of our lives, including professional and institutional communication. Important factors in determining genre change have been changing habits and conventions in discourse communities, the more or less explicit imposition of discursive conventions on the part of gatekeepers (e.g. publishers and academic reviewers), contamination and hybridization between different professional discourse communities. Another source of change has been the increasing popularity of computer- and web-mediated communication, which has made new discourse modes and formats possible, and has also been synergic with other change-driving factors, with genres originally addressed only to a limited group of recipients now reaching a virtually planetary audience, thereby increasing their social exposure. This study explores the mechanisms that have determined genre change in the last few decades, focusing in particular on genre change that does not originate directly within the relevant discourse communities, but rather results from the impact of broader developments in society, and in particular from evolutions in predominant ethical and societal values, attitudes and beliefs, which not only bring with them new ideas and new contents, but often also involve profound alterations in discursive practices and the need to rely on discourse formats that suit new exigencies.