Latin-American Writing Initiatives in Engineering from Spanish-speaking Countries

Abstract This article analyzes Latin-American publications from Spanish-speaking countries to map programs pursued in the region and then provide a context to envision further research agendas for Latin-American Writing Studies in Engineering. The analysis of 22 publications suggests that initiatives and studies in Engineering are recent (as of 2009). The sample reveals an emphasis on pedagogically-oriented publications focused on Engineering as one field. The trends suggest that the Latin-American writing advocates in Engineering might broaden research scopes by incorporating theoretical frameworks for a) exploring and understanding different roles of writing across time and curriculum in student learning and by Engineering subfields and, b) exploring theoretical approaches to understand genres beyond individual texts (genre repertoires and genre systems).

摘要 本文针对西班牙语国家的拉丁美洲出版物展开分析，旨在梳理该地区的研究项目脉络，并为拉丁美洲工程写作研究（Latin-American Writing Studies in Engineering）的后续研究议程构建语境基础。通过对22篇出版物的分析可知，工程领域的相关实践与研究均属于较新的方向（截至2009年）。样本数据显示，现有研究成果多以教学为导向，且将工程学视作单一学科展开探讨。研究趋势表明，致力于工程写作研究的拉丁美洲学者可通过纳入两类理论框架拓宽研究范畴：其一，探究写作在学生学习的不同时间维度与课程体系中，以及各工程子领域内所发挥的多元作用；其二，探索相关理论路径以理解超越单篇文本的体裁研究范畴，包括体裁总集（genre repertoires）与体裁系统（genre systems）。