Distance and proximity between academic FASP and academic real: Reading the U.S. English department FASP
Résumé
This research article evaluates the degree of real in representations of U.S. departments of English in professional-based fiction about these departments. This genre depicts the practices, events, habits, webs of intricate relationships which make up the U.S. English academic community, giving in-depth descriptions of the workings of a university department with its linguistic and cultural specificities as well as its internal social, political and moral idiosyncrasies. The link between real academic life and its fictional depiction is thus strong in this kind of fiction, and the main purpose of this article is to present arguments advocating teaching this kind of literature in university literary fields to create a link between literature and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), in the context of academic teaching and research. Another purpose is to give French students of English in EAP programs an extensive view of the workings of U.S. departments of English, an idea on the kinds of ethical/political issues raised in these departments. These programs offer a specific knowledge of English depending on the needs of the students who plan on studying or teaching abroad.