8: Genre

History of Genre

In classical rhetoric, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle focused on three genres, distinguished by their audiences and their occasions:

• Deliberative rhetoric was used to persuade audiences to do something and typically happened in political settings; it focused on future events.
• Judicial rhetoric happened in courts of law and was used to determine whether or not someone was justly accused; it concerned past events.
• Epideictic rhetoric occurred during ceremonies like funerals, and it was used to praise or blame someone.

Distinguishing among these genres was important for Aristotle as he taught students how to produce the kinds of texts their audiences would recognize and admire. But genre studies has persisted throughout intellectual history, especially when new genres emerge and challenge scholars’ sense of order.

The work of two important contemporary scholars of genre in rhetoric, John Swales and Carolyn Miller, illustrate how widely divergent theories of genre can be. Swales is concerned with analyzing genres by describing them—identifying key textual characteristics of various genres—because these descriptions can easily turn into rules that help students master the genres that circulate in higher education.

Miller, on the other hand, argues for a view of genre “as a specific, and important, constituent of society, a major aspect of its communicative structure, one of the structures of power that institutions wield” (71). Miller is less concerned with teaching students how to reproduce already established genres and more concerned with understanding how genres function in society.

There are genre scholars in a variety of fields—film studies, literary studies, musicology—and the theories of genre are numerous. The concept persists as an important object of study because it helps us to better appreciate the works we create and to better understand ourselves as creators.

Genre Today

Studying genres today often involves exploring the specific features that texts in that category share. Often, these features emerge when people have to produce similar texts over and over.

Consider, for example, the journalistic genre of “the obituary.” Try to list the features of the genre called “the obituary,” a public text written to notify the community that someone has died. Some obituary features include: the date (and occasionally the cause) of death; the date and place of birth; a positive account of schools attended, careers, and other accomplishments; a brief list of people that the deceased was “preceded in death by” and those who survive the deceased; and the details about funeral arrangements and memorial services. Very often, this text is accompanied by a photograph of the deceased when he or she was young and/or healthy.

Knowing the features that readers expect in a particular genre make it easier to write. So, when a loved one dies and you are asked to write the obituary, you don’t have make up from scratch what to include in it, as it is a common genre with its own set of conventions.

One obituary that circulated on social media illustrates just how predictable this particular genre is. Walter George Bruhl, Jr. wrote his own obituary because he was familiar with the features of the genre, and because he knew his readers would be familiar with them as well, he was able to make it one of the sweetest, funniest obituaries you’ll read. For example, he writes, “Walt was preceded in death by his tonsils and adenoids in 1936, a spinal disc in 1974, a large piece of his thyroid gland in 1988, and his prostate on March 27th 2000.”

And where we expect the positive discussion of his schooling, we read “He drifted through the Philadelphia Public School System from 1937 through 1951, graduating, to his mother’s great relief, from John Bartram High School in June of 1951.” About the details of the service, he wrote, “There will be no viewing since his wife refuses to honor his request to have him standing in the corner of the room with a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand so that he would appear natural to visitors.” Because he knew this genre so well, he was able to write it in a way that depends on readers’ expectations of the genre, only to subvert those expectations with humor.

Perhaps what is most interesting about the concept of genre in the digital age is how genres change when they move from print into networked, digital environments. For example, most obituaries now appear online, as part of the page of a funeral home’s website. These obituaries will still include many of the features described above, but they borrow from other online texts, too: there might be a “Guestbook” where people leave comments for the family, along with links to articles about handling grief or funeral home etiquette.
And the story of the life of the deceased juxtaposed with ads for cell phone plans can be somewhat jarring in this context. Catherine Schryer aptly describes genre as “stabilized-for-now,” highlighting the paradoxical nature of its role in communication (200). While genres offer stability—obituaries, for instance, in publications such as the New York Times are usually detailed and follow typical conventions--they are not immune to change.

Some genres have not changed much, even though we often circulate them electronically rather than on paper. A grocery list is still a list of items written as a reminder of what is needed while out shopping. Whether this list appears on a scrap of paper or in a notes app on the phone, its general features and function haven’t changed. On the other hand, reviews (of restaurants, movies, music) have changed to the extent that they are written by everyone now, instead of solely by professional writers. Now, they are collected (for good or ill, as one must discern the legitimate reviews from fake ones) on sites like Rotten Tomatoes or Yelp, instead of being circulated in print newspapers or magazines.

The email is an evolved form of the paper memo that was circulated in offices: we can recognize the features of the To, From, Date, and Subject lines that existed in that earlier genre. When sent from co-worker to co-worker and copied to others, we see the function of the paper memo, and we talk about our email “inbox,” a remnant of the actual box on desktops that held the paper documents. However, in some ways, an email is no longer a recognizable relative of the memo. We might use emails to communicate with friends or relatives (that was never the case with work memos); we can distribute emails to greater numbers of people (than would have been practical with the print memo) instantaneously. Further, some people use a far more casual, conversational tone in email than they ever would have in traditional memos. Other genres are completely new. Tweets, for example, don’t seem to have a parallel in terms of form, function, and circulation methods in the world of print.

Instagram is worth considering as a genre story. It can be regarded as a hybrid genre or perhaps multi-genre. At its inception, Instagram was simply an image-sharing platform. This storytelling genre offered users a way to document their experience via photographs. However, an Instagram account has evolved not only in terms of its affordances, to add video and to remix longer “stories,” but in its power to brand individuals.

The profession of modeling now uses Instagram “follower counts” as criteria for opportunity and success. (That is, you are marketed to clients by your agency according to how many followers you have.) The professional role of “influencer” has emerged, as Instagram’s genre has shifted. It has become a portfolio representing a person’s or organization’s value as a commodity. Your picture represents your “work” (which appears to be an entirely new definition of work).

Consider the now infamous story of the 2017 Fyre Festival. Organizers used Instagram to sell tickets to an elite destination music festival, advertising its opulence with doctored images and big promises, despite having no expertise or plan to organize the advertised event. (See the notorious video promoting the festival, available online.) When festival goers showed up, they found tents and meager meals where they expected vacation homes and feasts. For Fyre Festival organizers, the genre Instagram represented was the perfect projection of their product—real pictures depicting a fake experience. As followers made the Instagram posts go viral, this genre of media seemed to lend credibility to an incredible fantasy. It fit the genre of the elite music festival and thus seemed legitimate.

On the flipside, Instagram, as genre, can successfully promote positive messaging, too, in the form of popular hashtags related to animal rescue or cancer awareness, similar to other types of posts on Facebook, for instance. Instagram might now be the place you would post a love letter to your paramour, for example.

Do image sharing apps (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook) share enough features for us to recognize them as a discrete category of genre? The concept of genre has to be flexible as we witness tech-remix evolution. As authors, readers, and makers, we must notice emerging genres and use them intelligently as we navigate the complex communication landscape.

Genre and Other Concepts

Apart from widely used forms of genre, we can also think about hybrid genres and subgenres, many of which have been historically marginalized or overlooked. Embracing these lesser-known genres not only expands the scope of creative expression but also amplifies diverse voices and perspectives, invites fresh interpretations, and encourages writers to embrace other types of richness and multiplicity within human experience.

A hybrid genre is a form of remix wherein an author combines two or more established genres to create something new. By combining multiple genres in one text, authors can challenge audience expectations and create innovative forms of expression. Graphic novels, for example, were long disregarded in literary circles because they combined fictional narratives with comic strip art, leading some critics to conclude that the stories presented in graphic novels couldn’t be serious or complex—which, if you’ve had the pleasure of reading titles like Art Spiegelman’s Maus or Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Today, digital platforms have created new genres and opportunities for hybridization, such as interactive fiction, hypertext literature, and video game storytelling. Embracing these new hybrid genres enables authors to experiment with interactive narratives and engage readers in innovative ways.

Subgenres, on the other hand, are spinoffs of larger genres, each with its own specific form and use. A literary subgenre that has recently gained attention in national discourse is “cli-fi,” a genre of speculative science fiction that focuses on climate change and its environmental impact. This excerpt from the jacket description for Omar El Akkad’s bestselling 2017 cli-fi novel American War gives us a sense of what cli-fi is all about: “Sarat Chestnut, born in Louisiana, is only six when the Second American Civil War breaks out in 2074. But even she knows that oil is outlawed, that Louisiana is half underwater, and that unmanned drones fill the sky.”

Dan Bloom, a fiction writer and freelance journalist, claims to have coined the term “cli-fi” in 2007 to market his book Polar City Red, which sold only 271 copies when it was released (Glass). Instead of feeling angry when news outlets began using his term to describe other works of science fiction that dealt with similar themes, Bloom is reportedly happy to see cli-fi gaining wider recognition. By calling certain works of literature “climate fiction,” we begin to make a previously unknown subgenre legible to others, thus increasing the visibility of its authors and their stories.

Further, by recognizing genres that have been historically marginalized or overlooked, we can amplify diverse voices and perspectives. Broadening our concept of genre creates opportunities for writers to express themselves and for readers to engage with a wider range of texts, which gives the writers of those texts greater visibility and potentially challenges dominant cultural narratives. In addition to an author’s command of traditional genre forms, this newer approach can promote a more inclusive and diverse writing environment, where a multiplicity of voices and perspectives are valued and celebrated.

Genre plays a significant role in the arrangement of a communication by providing a framework and expectations for how information should be organized and presented, and different fields each have their own established genres that reflect specific values, expectations, and communicative practices. As you see elsewhere in this text, the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos are also key elements related to genre, as each genre entails its own conventions for appealing to an audience’s sense of what’s trustworthy, logical, or emotionally stirring.

Apart from its role in creating hybrid forms, remix can be also used to transform texts of one genre into another; erasure poetry, for example, involves selectively erasing portions of an existing text, creating a poem from what remains. In her poem “R E D,” trans author Chase Beggrun erases sections from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to craft a story exploring themes of violence, feminist anger, gender, and what it means to be a “monster.” Additionally, writers must consider the affordances of a particular genre to utilize its capabilities, such as a poem’s ability to convey emotion, or an academic research essay’s ability to provide logical arguments and evidence.

Looking Ahead

As you progress beyond your first college writing course, the concept of genre will continue to be relevant in many future endeavors. In more advanced writing courses, you may be asked to explore specific genres within your chosen discipline, for instance, such as technical writing, academic writing, or creative writing. Understanding the conventions and expectations of these genres will enable you to navigate and contribute effectively to their respective fields of study and will help you understand how best to create a remix of traditional genres.

Looking ahead, writing courses may also offer specialized genre-focused electives that will allow you to delve more deeply into specific genres or explore emerging ones. These courses could explore genres such as graphic novels, interactive storytelling, digital media, or multimedia composition. By engaging with these genres, writers can expand their understanding of genre and develop the skills needed to effectively communicate in diverse contexts.

Courses outside of an English or writing department will also no doubt incorporate genre as a means of communication and expression; every field has its own genre expectations and preferred forms. Understanding genre conventions in any discipline will enable you to communicate effectively and engage with the broader academic, public, and professional communities.

Genre in AI-Assisted Writing

LLM (Language and Learning Model) or AI-assisted writing tools can provide valuable support for writers engaging with genre. These tools can offer suggestions and feedback on genre-specific conventions, helping writers refine their texts to meet the expectations of a particular genre. However, writers should keep in mind that while these tools can assist with genre-specific conventions, they can’t replace your own judgment and creativity. You’ll need to engage in a thoughtful and reflective process of incorporating AI-generated suggestions while maintaining your own voice, originality, and style.

The use of LLM or AI tools may also lead to the creation of new genres—in fact, LLMs like Chat GPT have already changed the genre of “chatbot conversation” significantly, doing away with the canned repetition of chatbots of the early 2000s like SmarterChild. As LLMs and AI tools continue to develop, so too will the genres they are capable of assisting humans to create.

Genre in 3D Printing

While genre may initially seem unrelated to 3D printing, the rhetorical aspects of this technology highlight the role of genre in guiding the creation of three-dimensional objects. Just as genres inform written texts, so do they also influence the design and production of objects in the three-dimensional space. Understanding the intended purpose and context of a 3D-printed object helps designers make informed decisions about its form, function, and aesthetics.

In the context of 3D printing, genres can be seen as design templates or blueprints that inform the creation of objects. Different genres of objects, such as architectural models, medical devices, or artistic sculptures, have their own conventions, requirements, and intended uses. By understanding these genre-specific considerations, designers can create objects that effectively communicate their intended purposes and engage with users.

3D printing allows for the exploration of new possibilities and the creation of hybrid objects that blend elements from different genres. Designers can combine functional and artistic aspects, experiment with unconventional materials, and challenge traditional genre boundaries. This opens up opportunities for innovative and creative expression in the realm of three-dimensional design.

Writing with Genre

By asking yourself some key questions when working with genre, you can navigate its conventions, tailor your communication, and engage with your audience more effectively:

• What is the purpose of my writing? Consider the overarching objective of your writing and how genre can support and align with that purpose. Selecting an appropriate genre that matches your intended purpose is crucial.
• Who is my audience? Identify your intended readership or audience and consider their expectations. Understanding your audience's genre expectations can help you tailor your writing to better resonate with them–it can also help you decide when, and how, to subvert those expectations and surprise your readers with something new.
• What are the conventions and characteristics of the genre I’m working in? Familiarize yourself well with the defining elements, structure, style, and language associated with the genre you intend to use. Read, watch, and study examples of established and emerging works within the genre to grasp its conventions.
• Should I modify or adapt this genre to better suit my purpose? Take some time to assess whether the genre conventions you’ve identified align with your specific writing goals or if certain modifications or adaptations are necessary. Explore how you can creatively blend or tweak genre conventions to serve your unique needs while still maintaining audience expectations.
• Are there any ethical considerations related to the genre I’m using? Consider issues like cultural appropriation, misrepresentation, or potential harm that may arise when utilizing certain genres. Strive for responsible and respectful engagement with genre.
• How can I effectively blend or combine multiple genres? Explore the potential of blending or combining genres to achieve your desired communicative effect. Assess how different genres can complement or enrich each other, and experiment with hybrid forms that push the boundaries of genre conventions.
• How is the genre I’m working in changing, and how should I adapt? Recognize that genres are not static; they evolve over time. Commit to ongoing learning and stay updated on emerging genres, shifts in genre conventions, and changing audience expectations. Embrace the need for continuous adaptation and improvement in working with genre.

Genre Activity

In small groups, identify two genres of communication that exist somewhere in the world. Try to focus less on broad categories of genre like “fiction” or “painting” in favor of more specific, tangible examples (e.g., “love letter,” “tweet”). This activity also works best if you choose genres that are distinctly different from one another in terms of audience, form, and purpose (for example, “1980s rock ballad” and “quarterly stock report” instead of “tweet” and “reply to a tweet.”)

Then, use the prompts below to outline the qualities of each of the two genres your group has selected.

Genres Comparison:

Works Cited

Bruhl, Jr., Walter George. “Walter George Bruhl Jr., DuPont Co. Retiree.” Cape Gazette, 11 March 2014, Walter George Bruhl Jr. [www.capegazette.com]. Accessed 13 Dec. 2023.

El Akkad, Omar. American War. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Fairclough, Norman. Discourse and Social Change. Polity Press, 1992.

Glass, Rodge. “Global Warning: The Rise of Cli-Fi.” The Guardian. 31 May 2013. Global Warning [theguardian.com]. Accessed 13 Dec. 2013.

Helgesen, Torbjørn. A notepad with a green pen sitting on top of it. 2021. Unsplash, Notepad with a green pen [ unsplash.com].

Miller, Carolyn R. “Rhetorical Community: The Cultural Basis of Genre.” Genre and the New Rhetoric. Eds. Aviva Freedman and Peter Medway. Taylor & Francis, 1994. 67–78.

NOAA. Hurricane illustration. 2020. Unsplash, Hurricane illustration [ unsplash.com].

Pless, Delia. Purple Rain Quarterly Report. 2023.

Schryer, Catherine. “Records as Genre.” Written Communication, vol. 10, no. 2, April 1993, pp. 200-234. Sage Journals, doi: Records as Genre [ 10.1177].

Swales, John. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990.

TheFirstM. Pidgin-2.0.0b7-winxppro-conv.png. 2007. Wikimedia Commons, Pidgin-2.0.0b7 [ commons.wikimedia.org]. Licensed under GNU GPL.