Narrative and analytical interplay in history texts: recalibrating the historical recount genre

Abstract

Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) informed genre theory, this paper investigates the interplay between narrative and analytical representations of the past in texts used for history-educational purposes. In this paper, it is argued that the role of narrative merits further attention in history genre descriptions. Thirteen history texts, selected from a lowersecondary history-instructional unit about European colonization, are examined. The examination of stages, narrative elements, and the way historical significance is expressed in these texts arrives at a re-calibration of the historical recount genre suggesting four distinct historical recount types with different configurations of a narrative-analytical interplay. The findings have implications for our understanding of the role of narrative elements in history texts, and further for genre-based approaches to instruction that concern reading and writing history texts.

Triple Method Approach to Development of a Genre-Based Approach to Teaching ESL/EFL Writing: A Systematic Literature Review by Bibliometric, Content, and Scientometric Analyses

“…One study focused on the paragraph level, particularly, introductions to research articles (Khaw & Tan, 2020). For this SLR, regarding the types of genres studied in these selected articles, we employed the classification of classroom genres proposed by Derewianka (2003): recounts (Abdel-Malek, 2020; Allen & Paesani, 2022; Crane & Malloy, 2021; de Oliveira & Lan, 2014; Donthu et al, 2021; Kindenberg, 2022; Mingsakoon & Srinon, 2018), research articles (Dong & Lu, 2020; Giraldo, 2019; Hasan, 1996; Li & Flowerdew, 2020; Mizumoto et al, 2017; Morell & Pastor Cesteros, 2019; Negretti, 2021; Negretti & McGrath, 2018; Zhang, 2018), narratives (Mauludin, 2020), expositions (Kongpetch, 2006), and some others, for instance, emails and letters (Changpueng, 2012; Truong, 2017), university application letters (Myskow & Gordon, 2009), critical literacy (Guerra-Lyons & Mendinueta, 2020), professional reflective writing (Heron & Corradini, 2020; Pérez-Llantada, 2018; Read & Michaud, 2015), research grant proposals (Flowerdew, 2016), and testing purposes (Shi et al, 2017) (details in Appendix A).…”

“…As in Figure 7, this network contained nine nodes and two links. Each node’s size represents the number of articles published in the country from 2003 to 2021, indicating that the nations making critical contributions were the United States, Australia, China, Sweden, and England (Abdel-Malek, 2020; Crane & Malloy, 2021; Heron & Corradini, 2020; Kindenberg, 2022; Shi et al, 2017). The United States produced the most significant number of publications (Abdel-Malek, 2020), but very few papers were published worldwide in the past 19 years.…”

“…Of the 54 selected articles, 12 employed qualitative research methods to investigate perspectives of teachers, students, or both (Abdel-Malek, 2019; Almacıoğlu & Okan, 2018; Andre & Schneider, 2004; Giraldo, 2019; Heron & Corradini, 2020; Kindenberg, 2022; Mingsakoon & Srinon, 2018; Mizumoto et al, 2017; Negretti, 2021; Negretti & McGrath, 2018; Tribble, 2017; Xeketwana, 2018). As research methods, the majority of these studies employed semi-structured interviews or focus group discussions.…”