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2 Explaining GenreTheory

hevisesofgenretheorythathelpitaddressinstructionalchallenges
underscoretheJiewwayg enreisbeingdefined.Morethanclassi
fyinga"kind"ofwriting^poetry,anovel,oraletter,forinstance
atitsheart,
emphasizesth"e4(leathatwritingissocSdlyctffi
strt\cTefl. CarolyrfR.Miller'slandmark1984 article"GenreasSocialAc
tion"iscreditedwithe xtendingthetraditionaldefinitionofgenreinways
thatopenednewavenuesofthought.She arguesthatgenresare"typi
fiedrhetoricalactionsbasedinrecurrentsituations"(159). Herempha
sis is onthe"action fri
iff
armmplish"(151) ratherthan
theformagenretakesoreventhesituationinwhichitarises.
Butthatwasjustthebeginning;heridealedtonewwaysofcon
sideringgenres^Amorethoroughexplanationiscomplicated,because,
intheend,thetheoryisn'tunified.It'sgenretheoriespluralandt hey
beginwithtryingtodefinegenres.

DEFININGG E N R E S

"Genrespervadelives.P^eopleusethem,consciouslyandunconsciously,
creativelyandforiiiulaically,forsocialfunctionsandindividualpurposes,
withcrititalawareness^andblindimmersion,inthepastandyettoday.
Theyshapeourexperiences, andourexperiencesshape them..As w'^
fftttdyariji'f^ach theSe"way?ofactingsymbolicallywitliothers,
may
be'approachinganunderstandingnotjustofgenres butofthe mes^y,
dqifiplex'waysthathumanbeing;s getalong intheir worlds"(Devitt,
Writing 219).
Perhaps messyand cbmplexaretwoperfectwordstobegin tode
finegenresascurrenttheoriesconceiveofthem.Defininggenrehasbe
comeverydifficult,partlybecause,asPaulW. Richardsonnotes,"aper
fectlyusefulwordhasnowbeensoexpandedinmeaningastorenderit
imprecise" (12425). AnisBawarshishows that,evenin lookingat the
.etymology,thewordis.challenging.HenotesthatgenrecomesfromLatin
cognatesthrough'French,"suggest[ing] thatgenressort and generate"
(Devitt,Bawarshi,'^andJieiff550).Inotherwords,genrescanbotharrange
whatexistsandproducesomethingelse,somethingthatmightnothave
existedbefore.'Theoriginofthewordrevealsahintofgenres'complex
ity,showingthattheyarecapableofmultiple,sometimesseeminglycon /
tradictory,actibns.

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

Toexplaingenres,then,itmightbesimplertostartwithwhatthey
areriot.Manyeducatorsstillconsidergenresas"(a) primarilyliterary,
(b)entirelydefinedbytextual'regularitiesinformandcontent,(c) fixed
andimmutable,and(d) classifiable intoneatandmutuallyexclusive
, categoriesandsubcategories"(FreedmanandMedway,"Introduction"
^1).Instead,today,genresrepresentallsortsofinteractions(sometextual
landsomenot),aredefinedmorebysituationthanform,arebothd ynamic
andflexible,andare moreanexplanationofsocialinteractionthana
classificationsystem.
GenresAre NotOnlyaboutLiteraryTexts Anymore.In fact,
Bazermanindicatesthatconsideringgenresonlyf romaliteraryperspec'
tivehasreducedtherecognitionof theirsocialaspect: "Because litera
tureisoftenwrittena ndreadi n c ontemplativecircumstances,apparently
(butnotthoroughgoingly)removedfromimmediateexigenciesof life,
thesocialembeddednessofgenrehasbeenlessvisible"("TheLife"20).
Thus,althoughliteraturealsorespondsto*asocial context,itissuchan
abstractonethatweoftenfailto recognizeit. Becausegenrestodayare
moredefinedbytheirsocialsituations, genresincludeall interactions
involvingtexts.Infact, everydaytexts,morethanliteraryones,are of
tenafocusofcurrentgenrestudy.
GenresAreMoreThanForms.Although,asAnthonyPareand
GrahamSmartacknowledge,"repeatedpatternsi nthestructure,rhetori
calmoves,andstyleoftextsare themo6treadilvobsewableaspectsof
genre"(147),theseobservablefeaturesdonot,bythemselves,constitute
agenre.AvivaFreedmanandPeterMedwayexplainthatregul^itiesin
formcomefromthesituation,insteadofexistingwithoutreason:"Genres
havecometobeseenastypical waysofengagingrhetoricallywithre
curringsituations.Thesimilaritiesintextualformandsubstanceareseen
asderivingfromthesimilarityinthesocialactionundertaken"("Intro
duction"2).Bazermanextendstheexplanation,showingt h a t ^ r m s not
o n l y comefronrsituatiohsbutalsogiiidejisthrougEsituafiprtsr"Gehfes
'arenotjustforms.Genresareforms ofiTfe.',.!Genresare.the familiar
plac^'We'gotbjcreate.intelligiblecoimmunicativeaction,with& c h o thec
Vndtlteguidepos'tsw e u se^oexplore"the urifanfili'af("Life"19). And
MarilynL.Chapmanaffirmstheo thers'assertionsaboutform'srelation
togenre:"Ratherthanrulestobefollowed. . . ormodelstobeimitated
. . . , genresarenowbeingthoughtofasculturalresourcesonwhichwrit
ersdrawintheprocessofwritingforparticularpurposesand'inspecific
situations"(469). So,althoughformisan aspectofgeilre,formdoesnot
defineagenre.

GenresAreNotFixed.Becausegenresareresponsestosoci^situ
ations(andsituationsarealwayschanging),'^enresaHnot.befixed.At
thesanre.time,asliotedpxeviously/.theyarenottotallywithoutregula?
ityeither.AsDevittexplains,"genres,then,arenota rbitraryorrandom,
beingtiedtorhetoricalandsocialpurposesandcontexts,butneitherare
theynecessaryandinevitable,beingshapedbyvariousinfluencesat
varioustimes"("Language Standard"47). Genresare stable, butnot
unchanging.Theymays harecharacteristicsovertimeorindifferentsitu
ationsinfact,acertainamountofstabilityisessentialforgenrestocarry
outa c t i o n t h e y a rener.exactly.the samebecausenotwositua
iionsareexactlytheSEune.
Genres Are NotSortable intoPrecise Categories nor AreThey
ClassificationSystems.Humanscan'thelpbutseesimilaritiesbetween
responsestosituationsspecialoccasionsmaywarrantagreetingcard,
forinstance. Butselectinganappropriategreetingcarddependspartiy
onthesituation^birthday, graduation,death.Mother'sDayso they
can'tbeallthesamegenre.EvenforthesameoccasionMother'sDay,
forexampleavarietyofpossibleresponses(cards)isavailable:sweet,
sappy, sentimental,humorous,andso on, dependingontheindividu
als'relationship,andcardscanbeforbirthmothers,adoptivemothers,
mothersinlaw,andgrandmothers.Becauseofthisconnectiontositua
tion,Devitt asserts thatalthoughclassificationis an"essentialpartbf
understandinggenre...suchclassificationisdefinedrhetoricallv.rather
thancriticaHy,^by thepeoplewhouseit"(Writing9). CharlesBaz^man
andPaulPrioragree:classificationis moreamatterofpeopleattempt
ingtolocateandgenerategenresthanofpeopleassigninggenrestocat
egories("Participating"143). Inthisway,rhetoricallya ndsocially,genres
haveaspectsthatallowclassification,butnotinthetraditionalsenseof
beingalabelforacategory.bywhichtextscanbeidentified.
So;:ifgenresarenotforms,notfixed,notonlyaboutliterarytexts,
andnotclassificationsystems,whatarethey?GuntherKressdefinesthem
b y theirprocessofdevelopment:"Inanysocietythereareregularlyre
curringsituationsin whichanumberofpeopleinteract toperformor
carryoutcertaintasks. Wheretheseare accompaniedbylanguageof
whateverkind,theregularityofthesituationwillgive riseto regulari
tiesinthetexts.wiiich.areproducedinthatsituation"("GenreasSocial"
27)rSatheyaretextsdevelopediha n d .respondingtoTecurringsjtuatioris.
That'satthecenterof genretheory. Buttheoristsarecontinuing toen
largetheconcept.AsBawarshimaintains,"weoversimplifygenresw hen
wedefinethemonlyasthetypifiedrhetoricalwaysinwhichindividuals
functionwithinsociallydefinedandapriorirecurrentsitiaations"("Genre

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

Function"356;emphasisadded).PareandSmartseparateoutthefunc
tionsBawarshimentionsanddescribegenreasJiaving''a,distinctivepro
fileofregularitiesacross fourdimensions"(146). Thesedimensionsin
clude(1)thetextsthemselves,(2)theprocessesusedtocomposethetexts,
(3) thepracticesreadersusetounderstandthetexts,and.(4)'"thesocial
roles"thetextsandpracticesestablish(146).Thisexpansionoftheidea
ofgenrebeyondtextandintoactions,processes,andrelationshipsbrings
usbacktogenresasmessyandcontplex.Itisdifficulttodefine
HfiPlv: froma
of
ppr^pprtivps.^w'eran,however,char_
social
''
rhetorical
dynamic
historical
cultural
situated
ideological
I\yilldiscusseachaspectofgenreseparately,butitwillsoonbeclearthat
.these aspectsofgenre arenotdiscrete.Theydependoneachotherand
interrelateincomplexways.

Social
Genresares o c i a l . T O e f a igu s M t o'actlns g e g ^ i t u l t i p n s , afidtheya r i s | _ ^
fromsociali n t e r S i w s ^ Because^otthosecha7ac'teFistic'^, the^both're
llpg|.tljqsocial'ijjteraSSnandhelppeoplemal<elserise'r)f'shhred..social
pxperie'riceSj AsBawarshipointsout,they"helpusdefineandorganize
kindrofsocial actions" ("GenreFunction"'335). We makeourwayin
socialsituations,andfigurethemout,partlythroughthegenresassoci
atedwiththosesituations.Programsattheoperaandmemosattheoffice
guideparticipantsindifferentsituations.Atthesametime,thesocialsitu
ationshapesthe genre.In someoffices, lessformal emailmessagesre
placememos,whileinothers,theemailmessagestillreadsandlookslike
atraditionalmemo.So, genresactinsituations,buttheyarealsoprod
uctsofthatsituation.
Infact,
r,
,asocialfact," becoming"parto fthew^ythatJiuMai\sgiV^shapetoso

'cialactivity"("SpkchActs,"311,317).Becauseoftheseshapingaspects,
genresactasakindofetiquette,accordingtoAnneFreadman,showing

11

12

^
"i
O ^
^ t
X5"

PartI:Theory

"howpeoplegetonwithoneanother"("Anyone" inFreedmanand
Medway57); tHeyate" a socialTodeofbehaviorestablishedbetweenthfe
reader arid.author"aec^Drding toBawarshi("Genre Function"343).
Freadmansuggestsweconsiderthe"rules"ofgenrestobemannersm ore
thanlaws;'bydoingso,wecanseehowgenresnotonlyactforpurposes
butalsocreate optionsforouractions,options wecanchoosetoadopt
orreject,withrnrrespnndinp;social rnnspqiipnrps.Ifwechoosetosub
mitapoemwhenaresumeisexpected,wemightnotgettheposition
thatis,ofcourse,unlessthepositionisfora poet.Sogenresaresocialin
howtheyfunctionandinhowtheyrespond,intheireffectsandintheir
origins.
Becausegenresaresocial, partofthemeanifigtheycarryresides
inthesocial contextthatcreates thegenre.As BazermanandPrioras
sert,"cflti}{|?art t5f themeaningresidesinthepa^icularquantres,oflhe
texts,"Wh'|lemuchsitswithinthesodohistoricaf^genesisofthesocial,in
stittitional,and'materialsystems withinwhjfchthe texts,users, andin
teractionsareboundtog6thet"("Participating"137). Forexample,they
listmultiplepvirposesforfillingoutaform: to"makeapplication,com
plywitha regulation,orreportanevent"(144). Thetexts (forms) may
seemsimilar,butthem^anin^eachcarriesdiffersdependingontheso
cialsituationinwhichitoccurs.And,aspeopleuseagenreinaparticu
laractivity,theybegintoseeitaspartofthatactivity,as partoftheso
cialwebofthecommunity.
Genresarenotonlywaysusersactsocially. Theyalsohaveaso
cial aspectinthemselves: theyinteractwitheachother,bothexplicitly
andimplicitly,innoticeableformsandinlessnoticeableusesoflanguage
(Bazerman,"Intertextuality"8687)1Theseinteractionsarereferredtoas
i^^iBiaEtextualiijiandtheyoccurinanumberofways.Somegenresdevelop
outofothers,carryingelementsofthosepreviousgenresintonews itua
tions;somerespond toideas andlanguageinothergenres, usingthat
langviage orthose ideasas supportor as thebasisfor argument.One
specific typeof intertextuality,called "p^pnrg rha^nc" byChristineM.
TardyandJohnM.Swales (570), describesgenresthatalwaysactinre
sponsetopriorgenres.Anassignmentpromptfromateacherfollowed
bythestudents'completedassignmentfollowedbytheteacher' scom
mentsandgradeontheassignmentthatwouldbeagenrechain.
Asa resultofthis(orinterwovenwiththis)socialactivitybuild
ingaspect, genrespositionparticipants, creatingsocial rolesfor thelii.
DavidQuammenaddressesthisroleassignmentwhenhewritesabout
compilinghis rhagazinecolumnsfor a book: "I mentionthatsenseof
relationshipbecauseacolurrmis,inmyopinion,differentfromothersorts

13

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory
/

ofmagazinewriting.'Partofacolumnist'sspecialtaskistoturnoneself
intoanagreeablehabit,yettomaintainanedgeofsurpriseandchallenge
thatpreventsreadersfromlettingthe.h abitbecomesornnolentr o t e . . . .
Therelationship betweenamagazinewriterandthereaderstends,in
mostcircumstances,to befleetingandshallow.Ina book,ontheother
hand,areaderundertakesasustainedandseriousconnectionwiththe
writer....Acolumncanbethemostconversationalformofjournalism,
buttocreate thesenseofa conversationwithreaders,thewritermust
consenttobeaperson,notapundit"(1112).AsQuammendemonstrates,
differentgenrescreatedifferentrelationships.To makeanyrelationship
work,theparticipantsagreetotakeoncertainroles.AsPareandSmart
explain,"thesegenericcharacteristicsofroleandrelationshipdetermine
whatcanandcannotbedoneandsaidbyp articularindividuals,aswell
aswhen,how,where,andtowhom"(149).WhenIreceiveanemailmes
sagefrommysupervisor,Itakeadifferentstance(wordchoice,levelof
formalityintone,etc.)inmyr esponsethanIdowhenIreplytoane mail
messagefromastudent.Samegenredifferentroles.Theassigrimentand
acceptanceofrolesandtheresultingrelationshipsarepartofthesocial
aspectofgenres.

Rhetorical
^eqausetheyjbothestablishand.enforcerelationships^^^eiiresarethetori
cafrfhatjs,they'allowuserstochoosearridngoptionstaeffectivelyac
semplishthey:purposesineachparticularsituation.EdwardP. J. Corbett
andRobertJ. Connorsidentifythe"choice ofavailableresourcestoachieve
anend"aspartofwhatmakessomethingrhetorical(2). Certainly, if
genresareviewedasmaimers,choiceisanelement,asisadaptingtositu
ation: mannersshiftfor differentsituations, andpeoplecanchooseto
observeexpectationsornot.Genreusers,then,consideroptionsforcom
municatingtheirownpurposeswithinthesituation,choosingtofollow
genericexpectationsornot,toonedegreeoranother.
Devittposits thepresenceof bothstabilityandflexibility inthe
natureofanygenre;"stabilitytopnsurpthatthpgenrecontinuestoful
r.^^Pf^carYiiinrtions.flexibility.toensurethatindividualscanadant
the
circunistances"
{Writing135). Theflexibility shementions andusers'ability to adapt
genresshowtheirrhetoricalaspects.TerenceT. T. Pangdescribesthese
rhetoricalchoicesasmoves:"Movesarepurposefulfunctionalunitssus
tainingthecommunicativeintentofthespeaker"(147).Genreuserscan
chooseamongobligatory movesthoseaspectsof a genrethatarees

^ R c ^ U i .
.

14

PartI:Theory

sential toothers' identificationofit asa genreandoptionalmoves

thoseaspectsofagenre thataremoreflexible. Forexample,inamovie
reviewi t wouldb e obligatorytoinckidethereviewer'soverallevalua
tionof themovie,examplesto supportthatevaluation,andreferences
tothe acting,cinematography, orother aspectsof theproduction.Op
tionalmovesmightinclude choices regardingthearrangementof the
review'scontent(givingtheevaluationfirstorlast),thetonethereviewer
takes(objectiveorsatiric),ortheoverallpurpose(toinformorpersuade).
Decidingtofollow expectedmovesandselectingamongoptionalones
arerhetorical choices.Theelementofstrategicxhoice, ofbeingabletg
^ considersituation,purpose,timing^udience.culture,andavailableop
donswhenusingagenre,7s w h ^ m a k e s genresrhetorical.

Dynamic
Partlybecausetheyarebothsocialandrhetorical,genreschange,andthey
createchangeintheircontexts.JeanneFahnestockprovidesaninterest
ingexamplethatshowshowgenresaffectcontext.Sheliststhreediffer
entapproachesadeancantaketoaddressfacultyaboutbudgetcuts:list
ingthecutsinathisishowitwillbeformat;explainingtheneedsand,
togetherwiththefaculty,brainstormingpossibilitiesforaddressingthe
cuts; orexplaining theproblemandarguingfora particularcourseof
action(266).Althoughtheinitialsituationisthesame,Fahnestockargues
thateachrhetoricalchoicewillcreateadifferentresultingsituation;thus,
thechoiceofgenrecanchangethesituation:"Theabilityofgenretoshape
contextis,then,animportantpoint"(266).Thisabilityofgenrestoboth
^ respondtoandaffectsituationispartofwhatmakesthemdjmamic.
Anotheraspectofgenres,theirabilitytobeflexible,alsocontrib
utestotheirdynamicnature:becausegenrescanadapt,theyalsochange.
DeborahHicksnotes thatgenres"donotfullydetermine theparticular
rhetoricalmovesthatcanoccurinagivensetting.Participantscan,and
do,interpretandsubtlyalterthediscoursesthatm ightotherwisebecon
stitutiveofasocialaction" (467). Echoingthissentiment aboutgenres'
flexibility,Carol BerkenkotterandThomasN.Huckinassertthisinter
estingclaim:"We feelthatgenericnessis notan,allornothingproposi
tion.. . . Instead,communicatorsengagein(andtheirtextsreveal)vari
ousdegreesofgenericactivity"("Rethinking"492).Inotherwords,'^OThe
exaiifpleioia.'genremightbeoncffeiiketheexpectti<5W'thgi"t)thers. Ber
causeus'er^ad^ptgfehrSS| o theirpmpb^^'attd'tirakerhetpricalchoices
invaryingfiSDCialsittfaFions,.genreshave.flexibiljiyandflexihiliJv.C&P
toxiiarigje. '

Chapter 2; ExplainingGenreTheory

15

Researchersreviewingspecific genresthroughtimehavedocu
mentedthisdynamicnature. Forexample, DevittsummarizesJoAnne
Yates'sreviewofAmericanbusinessgenresfromthelatenineteentha nd
earlytwentiethcenfuriesasanexamplenotingthefactorsinfluencing
genrechangeaswellasthewaysgenresinfluenceculturaltransforma
tions(Writing9396,1026,11012).Inhersurveyofseveralsuchstud
ies, Devittdemonstratesthatcontextualfactors aswell asindividuals
workingwithingenres(resistingthemasweffasadaptingthem)contrib
utetogenrechange.Devitt,Reiff,andBawarshiassertthatthisdynamic
aspectofgenresisverymuchafactorofpeople'suseofthem;"Genres
donotchangemagicallyop theirp,wn: peoplechangegenres, usually
slowlyandimperceptibly,astheybegintorecognizethewaysinwhich
genresnolongerfullyservetheirneeds"(163).Suclichangecantakeplaice
atdifferentpacesbecauseofvaryinginfluences,butthereisnodoiibtthat
peopleusinggenrestoaccomplish socialandpersonalgoalswillhave
aneffectonthegenrestheyuse.

Historical
Genresarehistoricalinthesensethatwhentheychangeorwhennew
genresdeveloptheydependonpreviousgenres,antecedentgenres,for
theirdevelopment.Inexplainingthischaracteristicinorallanguage,M.
M.Bakhtindeclared,"Anyutteranceisalinkinaverycomplexlyorga
nizedchainofotherutterances"(69).EchoingEal^Jitin,MargaretHimley
assertsthat"inlearningtowrite(orspeak),thelearner..learnstheways
ofmakingmeaningofaparticularlanguagecommunitybya ppropriat
ingandreworkingthosewaystowhichshehasaccess"(138).^,^ause
genresdon'texistinavacuum,because,as.Devittaffirms,"ourresponse
to^s^TKIatToncan"Feguided\?y pgstresponses,"antecedent^genresr^
v ^ l i h e historicalaspectofgenres("Generalizing"576). Infact, bWift
arguesthat"whennewgenresdevelopabruptlytheymayderivemore 1
fromthecontextofgenres[i.e.,previousrelatedones]thanfromthecon ^
textofsituation" (Writing99).
KathleenJamieson'sstudyofGeorgeWashington'sfirstStateofthe
Unionaddressshowstheincredibleinfluenceofpriorgenresindevel
opingnewones:
Theumbilicaltieswerestrongerthantheframersof.theConstitu
tionsuspected.Faced withanunprecedentedihetoricalsituation,
Washington responded to theConstitutional enjoinder that the
presidentfromtime totimereporttoCongresson thestateofthe.
unionand recommend necessaryandexpedient legislation, by

^ ^
>
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16

PartI:Theory

deliveringaspeechrootedinthemonarch'sspeech fromthethrone.
TheCongress,whichhadrejectedas toomonarchicalthetitle"His
Highnessthe President of the UnitedStates ofAmericaand Pro
tectoroftheRightsoftheSame," promptlyreactedas Parliament
traditionallyreacted totheKirig, anddrafted,debated,and deliv
eredan"echoing speech" inreply. (411)
AsDevittconcludes,^vRen'nd'genreekists fora new^ action,the"situa
t i o n ' d ^ r t d s heavilyonthefirstrhetortochooseAntecedentswjsSjy"
(Writing97).Certainlywhenthefirstchoiceisn'tasappropriateasitcould
be,itwillbechangedeventually.Untilthen,though,theconsequences
oftheineffectivegenreareatworkinthesituation.Becausegenresgrow
outofpastgenresanddevelopinto newones,becausetheymayeven
dependmoredeeplyonthosepastgenresthanweexpect,theyarehis
torical.

5
0r

Cultural
Inasociallybasedtheoryofwriting,contextmatters.Genresarecultural
inthesensethattheyoccurinandrespondtowhatD evittcallsa"macro
levelofcontext"acontextbroaderthantheimmediatesituationofthe
genreorculture{Writing31).Othertheoristsrefertothislargerconcept
ofcontextas discourse community,activity system,commurtity, orsimply
context. Allof theseothertermshaveaspectsuniquetothembutshare
theideaofbroadcontext,whichIgeneralizeherewiththelabelofcul
ture.Mygeneralization,tiowever,isn'tintendedtosimplifytheconcept
ofculture.Milter,notingthat"RaymondWilliams(1976)hascalled'cul
ture'oneofthetWoorthree'mostcomplicat^'^rd^in_the^Englishlan
guage,'"'definesitthisway:'tPUlfOleasa'parHcular^ y oflife'ofaiime

andplatfe,inallits'complexity,experiencedbyagroupthatundersta^ids
itsfelf $is an'identifiatl'egroup'"^("Rhetorical"'68). Devitt^ d s s peci&s
whenshedefinesculture("loosely")as"^sharedseT6Fniaterlalcontexts
and learnedbeh&viors,values,beliefs, andtempfates"{Writing 2^_.<S(>
tfiltureTepresentsthebfoadcontextthatmfluencisgenresWhatgenres
^arg'usfe'd,whenandhow,andbywhom.
Despitetheseclarifications,theconceptofculturediscoursecom
munity,context,whateveris,asBerkenkotterandHuckincallit,"slip
pery"becauseitisn'ta"staticentity" ("Rethinking"497). Peoplemove
inandoutofcultures^ d belongtoseveralsimultaneously.Devittalso

acknowledgesthatpeoplealsoformgroupswithcommonalitieswithin
culturesandbetweencultures.Shedelineatesthreekindsofsuchgroups:
VtdmmuritttSS,Vwhich are"peoplewhosharesubstantialamountsoftime
^
togetherincommonendeavors"^ollectives^hichare"peoplewhogather

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

aroundasinglerepeatedinterest,withoutthefrequencyorintensityof
contactofacommunity";andfsocffl/'networks^tvhichare"peoplewhoa re
connectedonceor moreremoved,throughhavingcommoncontact
withanotherpersonororganization"(Writing63).Thesedifferentdegrees
ofinteractionamongpeopleinvarioustypesofrelationshipsexemplify
thedifficultyinpinningdownc ultureorcontext.
Inaddition,genresspancommunities,enabling^relationshipsbe
tweenandamongthem,andgenresthatdevelopwithinacommunity
aresometimes meantforusebythoseoutsideit. So therelationships
betweengenresandculturearevariedandcomplex.Millerapproaches
thecomplexityirithisway:"Ratherthanseeing[community]ascomfort4
ableandhomogeneousandunified,Iwanttocharacterizeitas funda\
mentallyheterogeneousandcontentious"("Rhetorical"74). Withinthis'
disunity,though,shesees genresasa stabilizingaspect: ^llrttheirpr^gi
maticidimferisipn,genres notonlyhelppeopleinspatio.temporalcom
munitiesdo'theirwork'atidcarryoubtheirpurposes;thfey alsohelp
virtualcommim,ities,therelationship^wecarryaroundinr>ur.heads;to
ireproduceand*reconstructthemselves,tocontinuetheirstories"(75).So,
genrescanprovidecohesivenesstoaculture,butculturealsohasarole
in"defin[ing]whatsituationsandgenresarepossibleorlikely"(Devitt,
Writing25). EchoingDevitt,Coeindicatesthat_genresdefineculturesaS'S^
muchascultures; Hpfinpgpnrpc "partofwhatdefinesadiscoursecom
munityis thegenresystemitsanctionsandempowers"("NewRheto
ric"199). Indeed,hereturnsto thereciprocityofculture andgenreby
pointingoutthatusingagenre"usuallymeans. . . i nvokinga n d / o r re
constructingboththecommunity'svaluesanditsviewoftherhetorical
situation"(199). Thus,ctiltureinfluencesgenresandis,asaresult, also
influencedbythegenresemployedbyp articipantsintheculture.

Situated
Genresarealsosituatedinsmallercontexts;thatis,theyareloeatjedinor
placedinrelationtomoreparticularaspectsoftheirsurroundings.Us
ingDevitt'sterm,|theccmtextjofsituatiorureferstothe"microlevel"of
context(Writing31),Suchacontextdiffersslightlyiromtraditionalviews
oftherhetoricalsituation,(audience,purpose^occasion) b y addingso
cialaspectssuchasparticipantr ol^aandtherelationo ft herecurringsitu
atiorrtopurposeandtousesoflanguage(Devitt,Writing16). To clarify
howsituationis inherenttogenre. RandyBomergives anexampleof
seeingapieceofpaperunderhiswindshieldwipeKitcouldbeeithera
parkingticketoraflyeradvertisingsomething.Dependingonthesitua

17

18

Part1: Theory

tion,hecananticipatewhichis mostlikely.Whenhe'shandedapaper
by.an usherinaBroadwaytheater,itisprobablyaprogram:"Evenbe
fore welookatit, wehaveorientedourselves towaysof readingthat
genreandwillreaditonlywiththosequestionsinmindt hatareusually
answeredbyap l a y b i l l , p v p r y p if^eofwriting.PVPrytpvfW P r^aH

J=<=WL1S agh n t h a t

p)f f p ^ f _ a r i instpnrPQfa

.gerire"(117).Sj^usfiorvpositionsusTobothreceive^ndactwjthg^res
anS^reatescqles'Ai'jdrefationshipsas w e d o,go.
Cikeculture,situationisalsoreciprocal,asDevittexplains:"Genre
andsituationaretightlyinterwoven...butitisgenrethatdetermines
situationas wellas situation thatdeterminesgenre.To saythatgenre
respondstosituation notonlyisdeterministicbutalsooversimplifies
theirreciprocalrelationship" (Writing23).Devittillustratesthissituated
nesswhensheexplains thatstudentswritinglettersto theeditorfor a
classassignmentwillperformadifferentgenrethanaconcernedcitizen
writingalettertotheeditorwould(22).Thesituationstheimmediate,
andparticularlysocial,aspectsofcontext suchas purpose,participant
roles,andexigencies,atleastdiffer,sothegenre,asaconsequence,does
also.

Ideological

dI

Becausegenresaresocial,cultural,andsituated,itshouldbenosurprise
thattheyarealsoideological,that|l;teyRepresentwayspfJ hinkiugabout
^ndvaluingthewjjrld.BerkenkotterandHuckinnotethat"genressig
naladiscourse,community'snorms"("Rethinking"497),andDevittex
plainshow:"Because peoplein groupsdevelopgenres, genresreflect
whatthegroup4?elievesandhowitviewstheworld"{Writing59).Since
genresare notjustformsof social interactionbutalso waysofbeing,
participatingingenresinvolvesassumingthewaysofthinkingthaten
jc ompassthose waysofbeing. Bazermansays thatactingwithgenres
I causesparticipantsto "takeon themood,attitude, andactionalpossi^
/bilities....Adoptafratneofmind,setyovirhopes,planaccordingly,and
I beginacting"*("Genre" 13). Helikensusinggenres.Jtogoingto aplace
andtakingonthecharacter"of theplace:"Ifyouhangaroundtherace
tracklongenough,youbecomeo;ieofthoseracetrackcharacters"(14).
Sincegenresareshapedbysituation,theyrepresentthevaluesof
participantsinthatsituation.Whenusersofgenrescomefroma situa
\ tion'removedfromthatwhichcreatedthegenre,valuesmayclash.Pare
describesInuitsocial workersbeingurgedto morecloselyimitate the
recordkeepingconventionsdevelopedb y t heirurbanc ounterparts.The

Chapter2.: ExplainingGenreTheory

19

ideologiesofthosedetached,detailedrecordsrepresentedthevaluesof
theurbanculture,nott heclose,almostfamilial,relationshipsoftheInuit
culture,andthiscreatedaconflictforworkers:"Theworkers'dilemma
indicateshowparticipationinworkplacegenressituateswritersinrela
tionsofpower"(63). The useofthesegenresdividedthe"individual's
senseofidentity"(66).InsituationslikethisonewiththeInuitworkers,
faWKfl'atltGea&uggegtg^thatusersniay.uffei:from.the"extracognitive
^
work"thatocctjrsJjecause.ofconflictsbetweentheideologiesofi h e "<h5
^nresl^ifigused;andthepersonalideologiesofthe^ysers(158).T'hesfe
jcons^ueiigeSsSothei'deoidgiesofgenresarenotallb^d,Hoiygver/some
tirnest^eningnewwaysofviewingtheworldrnighljbebeneficial.'Devitt
claimsthat"ideologicalpowerisnotnecessarilygoodorevilbutr ather
.. atT^hivalg'nt it
prndandbad."(Wriimz
t^utthese
consequences^whetherthey'reperceivedtobegoodofbaddoserve
toillustratethatteachingandactingwithgenrescarrysocialandpoliti
calimplicationsbecauseofgenres'ideologicalaspects.
Becauseofideology,whatgenresgettaughtinschoolandtowhom,
andwhetherthey^retaughtasamatterofcomplianceorresistance,are
allmattersofconcern.PeterClementsassertsthat"teachersareneverjust
instructingwritersinthemeansandmethodsforrealizingth^irthoughts, (Jo iVcin^
moreeffectivelyonpaper,butratherarecoercingstudentsintospecific
politicalchoices abouthowtoalign themselveswithinvariousdis
courses"(203).Certainlyteachersneedtobeaw^reoftheideologieso |
Jth^enrestheyt e a c h p v o i d w
hatT omHomnoqays,"a genrgrut"
whenstudentsbecome"JohnnyOneGenres""("Teaching"174).Journals
representanideologyasmuchasfiveparagraphessays do. Romano
urgesteachersto "examineourcoursesandschool curriculafor genre
hegemony.Doesonegenredominate?"(174).Ifitdoes,whatideologies
arewereinforcingforstudents?Whatonesareweignoring?
Asa resultofthese political/ideologicalaspects, some theorists
urgethatacritiqueof genresis essentialto students'adequateunder
standingofthem. Afterexplainingthatrulescontrolbutresourcesen
able, Lemkeargues that"tot^ach genreswithoutcritiqueis notonly
unethical,itisintellectuallyfaulty.Thecritiqueofagenreiswhatmakes
itintoaresource.Itisonlywhenweunderstandtheorigins,history,and
socialfunctionsofagenre,i.e.itspolitics,thatweareempoweredtomake
intelligent,informeddecisionsinourowninterestabouthoww^shall
useitorchangeit"(5).However,teachingstudentstoresisttheideolo
giesofgenrescanbedifficult:whentheyuseagenre,eveninimitation
incfassroomsettings,theyareactingsomewhataccordingtotheideol
ogyinherentinthatgenre.HeatherMarieBastianarguesthat"whenw e

20

V\)

i o

Strop reading here!

PartI:Theory

performgenres,wearepositionednotonlyassituationspecificgenre
subjectsbutalso[as] anoverarchinggenericsubject.Andbothofthese
positioningsworktocreate complacentsubjects" (7). By performing
genres,then,studentsmayn otlaterbeabletoresisttheideologiesofthose
genres.
Asw e cansee,thesearethecharacteristicsofgenre:social,rhetori
cal,dynamic,historical,cultural,situated,andideological.Differenttheo"
riesaboutgenreplacevaryingd egreesofemphasisonthesecharacteris
tics,anddoingthisresultsindifferentviewsofwhatitmeanstouseor
learnagenre.Thosedifferencesarethefoundationforandtheresultsof
therangeofgenretheories.

G E N R E THEORIES
Traditionalgenretheory,asexplainedearlier,dealswithcustomarydefi
nitionsofgenre: literary, formfocused,andfixed. Morerecentrhetori
calgenretheoryfocuseson(1) everyday,workplace,orschool'texts;(2)
situationandcontextastheyrelatetotextualtegularities;(3) thedynamic,
fluid natureofgenres;(4)" theblurringofboundaries;and(5) theways
genresdevelopfromothergenres.Intontrasttotraditionalgenretheory,
thiscontemporarynotionofgenretheoryrecognizesgenresasideologi
cal andconceptualratherthanneutralandconcrete. Freedmanand
Medwayalsoobserve thatcontemporarygenretheoryis "descriptive,
rather'thanprescriptive"("Introduction"3).
Within thisbroadgeneralization ofcontemporarygenre theory,
though,arearangeof'theoriesthatdifferonthevariousimplicationsof
genreconcepts.Somieofthisdifferencehastodowithplace:theoriesthat
developedoutoftheAustralianlinguisticfoundationhavedifferentcon
cernsandtheoretical origins thandothosethatdevelopedoutof the
^ ^ N o r t h Americanfoundation.AsCoenotes,"|?^nratheoriesvarysignifi
xantlv"heraiisp thev"arp thpin;plvpg Tr>r.t|vated andsituated"("New
Rhetoric"198). InAustralia,concernsWithhelpingm arginalizedgrdilps
ga'm access to thesocialandeconomic mainstreamwereaddressed'by
linguistslooking forapplication oftheirideasin schools. Widespread
dissatisfactionwiththentoreexpressivistaspectsofthewritingprdcess
mbvefnentthereinfluencedanapproachtogenrethatemphasizedprac
ticalaspects,includingform.Incontrast,intheUnitedStates,wherethe
writingprocess'movementhadverystrongsupport,rhetoricians'inter
estsinthesocialaspectsofWritingweremoretheoreticalthanpractical.
S6althoughsimilarissueswereatplayi nbothregions,thosestressedin
AustraliawerenotasvitalintheUnitedStates.Asaresult,thfediffering

21

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

Abstract

Concrete
Genrea s . . . Text

Rhetoric

Practice

Figure1. TheGenreTheoryContinuum
needsandinputcreateddifferenttangentsfor thedirectionof genre
theory.Whateventuallydevelopedamongtheoristsacrosstheworldwas
arangeofideasforwhatgenretheoryreallyis:genretheoriesplural.
Baze'rmanandPriorsummarizetherangeofgenretheoriesinthis
way:"Genre hasbeenexploredinrecentdecadesfromthreequitedif
ferentperspectives:astext,asrhetoric,andaspractice"("Participating"
138). AsIinterprettheirsummary,wec ouldlookatthesedifferenttheo
reticalperspectivesalongacontinuum,withgereastextasthemostcon
cretetheoryandgenreas practiceasthemostabstract.Theoristswiththese
variousperspectivesemphasizedifferentelementsofcommonaspects
oftheory(Figure1).
'

Genrea s T
ext
Genretheoriesatoneendofthecontinuum,genreastext,tendtowarda
formalistperspective.Althoughtheoristslook atthewaysthefeatures
oftheformreflectthesocialsituation,theygenerallybeginwiththeform.
Thus,fromthisperspective,resumesputi mportantinformationinpromi
nentpositionsgroupedunderc onunonheadingseducation,experience,
referencesandinnoticeablestyles becausetheaudience is usuallya
busyprofessionallookingquicklythroughanumberofdocuments.De
spiteanunderstandingof therelationshipbetweehcontextandtext,
though,fKfeifeisatendencyforthosew i ^ thisperspectivetoemphasize
formmorethansituation.
This theoreticalposition,genreas text,dependsona somewhat
traditionalconceptofgenrestable,thoughstillresponsivetocontext
sincethis pointofview"rest[s] notonwhatagenreis. ..butonhow
gervresaretextuallyrealized"(BazermanandPrior,"Participating"138).
Instructioningenresoftenstemsfromthistheoreticalposition.Because
instructionalplansinclassroomsremovemostgenresfromactualcon
textsandmustrelyonthestabilityofgenresforteaching,formsarean
obvious what'slefttAmajorgoalformanyi nthegenreasteXtgrQup'isto
helpTtiSirginalizedgroupsfindwaysintofherofesofpower:ifaperson

Huuri^

PartI:Theory

22

can'twriteabusinessletter, howlikelyis thatpersontogeta jobthat

willallowhertomoveintocirclesofinfluence?Thisgoalexplainsapeda
gogicalinclinationtowardfocusingontextualfeatures:studentswould
needfairlystablemodelsa ndinstructioninformalfeaturestohelpthem
leamthegenres.
However,FreedmanandMedwaynotethatprovidingequalac
cess isn'tassimple as teachingtheforms ofgenres: "Students from
nondominantpositionscannotbecomepowerfulbysimplyadoptingthe
genresof power,since thelatterembodyvaluesandassumptionsop
posedtothoseheldbyp eopleoutsidethecentresofpower"("Introduc
copytheforfns,toassumeaninsiHprpnsitinn.And evenifallit tookto
beconiep S ' o f thepow^'ful'w
ttheformsofthatculture,Kress
.stresses anotherproblemwiththistheoreticalposition: "Theemphasis
\onaccess tothe genresof powerwouldleadto aspuriovis kindofeq
iluity,inwhichtherewasnochallengetotheexistingstatusquoofsocial
ilarrangements"("GenreandtheChangingContexts"464).Inotherwords,
IJstudentsmightbeabletojointhecommunitybutmightneverbeaware
oftheideologicalimplicationsofthatassociation.Also,thegenreastext
perspectivemaydiminishstudents'understandingofthedynamicas
pectofgenreandfailtoacknowledgegenres'fullcomplexity.Toomuch
focus onformmightsuggestthatgenres are formulaicand mightnot
providestudentswithasensethatusershaveoptionsthatcanreflectsitu
ationsandindividualneeds.withinthosesituations.
G e n r e a s R h e t o r i c ^

(An^$

Theoristsin themorecentral position,genreas rhetoric, emphasizethe

social actionsthatgive riseto agenre. Becausecertain situations have
developedformsforactinginthosesituations,forthesetheorists,genres
arewaysofacting:"Writingis notonlyaskill;itis alsoa wayofbeing
andactingintheworldataparticulartime,inaparticularsituation,for
theachievement of particulardesires" (Bawarshi, Genre 156). As
BazermanandPriorexplain it, thistheoretical position"staysfocused
ontextualfeatures,butreadsthosefeaturesaspartsofasociorhetorical
situation"("Participating"138). Visibletextualfeaturesareseenasper
spectivesintoasituation,notasendsinthemselves.Thesetheoristsmight
beginwiththetextbutmoveintoaconsiderationofthewaysthetexts
theyexplorebothr espondtosituationsandallowforvarietyandchange
inthosesituations. Ifformsarise fromcontext, usingthoseforms as a
waytolookbackatthecontextseemslogical,asJosephM.Williamsand

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

GregoryG. Colombassert: "Whenwelearnsodalcontext,wearealso

learningitsforms; butwhenwelearnforms,wemayalso belearning
theirsocialcontexts"(262). Fromthisperspective,writingisn'tonly,or
evenprimarily,aboutthetextanymore;it'salsoaboutthesituationsur
roundingthewriting,aboutunderstandingthatsituation,andabout
ensuringthattherhetoricalchoicesmadeinusingagenreareeffective
forthesituationandtheuser.
Devittnoteslimitationstothisperspective,though:"Interpreting
discoursefeatures thusrequiresnotonlysituationalbutalsocultural
astuteness.. . . Itis difficultfor thosewhohavenotactedthroughthe
genrestorecognizethefullmeaningandsignificanceoftextualfeatures"
(Writing53). Thus,whentextsareconsideredin relationtocontext, all
thevaluesandideologiesinherentinthec ultureandsituationmightnot
bevisibletooutsiderswholookatthetextalone.
G e n r e a s P r a c t i c e

OA mJt) svvv

Thethirdperspective,genreas practice,begins"withtheprocessofmak
inggenres"ratherthanw iththegenresthemselves(BazermanandPrior,
"Participating"139). Theoristsinthisrangesee"textualpracticesasfun
damentaltogenericaction"andemphasizethe"dynamic,fluid,hetero
geneous,andsituated"aspectsofgenres(138).Thesetheoristsfocusmore
onthecontextsandprocessesrelated togenre use thanonthegenres
themselves,ortheyseegenresasactions,ways'ofbeing,ratherthantexts.
Becausethosewiththisperspectiveemphasize thedynamicaspectof
genrestheir"fragility, plasticity,andheterogeneity"(139)ascentral
togenretheory,theyaremorelikelytotrytodescribegenrechangeina
particularsettingandfocusontheinstabilityofgenresthantheyareto
lookatatextasanartifactthatwouldprovidealensintoasituationor
asatextthatwouldrepresentasituation^astheothertwoperspectives
do.
Thegrii^tswiththisperspectiverarelypromoteapedagogicalap
plicationoftheorybecause"learninggenresinvolves'learningtbact
'Withotherpeople,*artifacts,andenvironments,*all ofwhicharethem
selvesinongoingprpcessesofchangea n d d evelopment"(Bazermanand
Prior,"Participating"147). Forthese'theorists;thefocusisonthecharac
teristicsofgenreinteraction,onwaysofcreatingrrieaning,ontheactions
genresenable.Notonlycanagenrebeawayofmakingatextandaway'
ofactinginacertainsituationbutitcanalsobeawaytomakesenseofa
situation,a waytoviewtheworld.Thus, thistheoretical positionem
phasizesideologiesandperspectives,actionsratherthantexts.

23

PartI:Theory

24

THEORIESIN PRACTICE

1. <=^V'

2^.

/\a

Doesitmatterthattheoristscan'tconTe toasingle, unifiedtheoryabout

genres?Notreally.Infact,ourthinkinga ndpracticecanbericherforthis
diversityofthought.Whatdoesmatterisourvinderstandingofhowthese
varioustheoriesofgenre playoutinpractice,oftheirpossibilitiesand
potentialforstudentlearning. Thenatureof thedifferences intheory
resultsinveryd ivergentviewsonwhatt heoryshouldlooklikeinclass
rooms. Mindful teachers, to adaptRichardFulkerson'suseof Charles
Silberman'sterm,knowwhattheoryisrepresentedintheirpedagogy.
Theinitial modelproposedforinstructionfromthegenreas text
perspectiveestablishedathreepartpattern:(1) examinationofamodel
text,(2)followedbygroupimitationofthetext,(3)leadingtoindividual
imitationofthetext.Themodelwascritiquedastoofocusedonformand
onacademicgenres,thusstiflingcreativityandpersonalexpression.This
criticismcamedespitetheassertionbyJ. R.Martin,FrancesChristie,and
JoanRothery(themodel'sauthors)yearsearlier that"itis veryimpor
tanttorecognizethatgenresmakemeaning:theyarenotsimplyasetof
formalstructuresintowhichmeaningsarepoured"(64).Inresponseto
C
i thecriticismandasaresultofdialogueamongeducators,themodelwas
revised.
J. R. Martin'srevisedmodelpresentsamorecontextualizedinter
pretationofgenre(128).Itbeginswithstudentsinvestigatingthesocial
contextofagenrebeforetheyexaminethegenre(text)itself.To havestu
dentsmoveawayfromseeingtextssimplyasforms,guidingquestions
forexaminingthetextrelateto functionsandrelationships,notonlyto
formalfeatures.Afterstudentspracticeindependentconstructiono f texts,
theyareencouragedto reflecton(andcritique) thegenre, questioning
theideasandrelationshipsthegenreprivileges.TheTevisedinodel>then,
movBstoward*aTnoi*ethe'Oretiicallyrichunderstandingofgenrcb)^hav
i n g studentsinvestigatecontext before lookingatsample textsandcri
tique.the,genre/j/iercreatingtheirownimitations.
Theinterestinequityexhibitedbythosewhofavorthistheoreti
calpositionisadmirable;thepotentialforfocusontextfornis,sometimes
tothepointofformulas,islessrepresentativeofgenretheorythansome
theoristslike.Giventhefirsttryatmakingthisnfiodelworki nclassrooms
andhowformulaicitbecame,critics,feelthattherevisedapproachmay
stillendorseatendency,insometeachers'hands,todiminishtheideaof
genreuntilit'salmostafillintheblankconcept,especiallyifthereislim
itedvarietyintheexamplesofthestudiedgenreandafocusonreplicat
ingoneexample. However,whenJulieE. WollmanBonillaobserved
teachersfollowing a processsimilar to this model,she notedthatthe

Chapter2: ExplainingGenreTheory

teachers"didnotexplicitlydiscuss grammaticalchoices" butrather

modeledthegrammaticalandstructural options ininteractivewritir\g
withihestudents,thusmovingawavfromteachinggenresasformulas
(41).Therefore,itseemsthatanapproachbasedo ngenreastextmaybe
highlydependentoneachindividualteacher'suseoftheinstructional
modelandherunderstandingoftheoryasitinformspractice.
QFhegenreasrhetoricgrou^ooksa ttextsasresponsestosituations
andtherebylinksthetwoaspectsofgenretheorythataremostconsis
tentamongthedifferentapproachestextandcontext.Themethodof
instructionis less patternedthanthegenreastext'splan,butitgener
allyinvolves examiningaspecific context, thepeopleinvolvedinthat
context,andthetextstheyuse.Studentsanalyzeavarietyofsampletexts
andaskquestionsaboutthenoticeablefeatures,notprimarilytoiden
tifythefeatures butmoretodeterminehowthosefeaturesbothreflect
andrespondtothesituationsthegenrescomefromandtoevaluatehow
effectivetherhetoricalchoicesmightbeinaparticularsituation.AsCoe
notes,thisperspectiveofgenrealterssomebasicconceptions*a boutthe
teachingofwriting;attheveryleast,hesays,itshouldencouragewrit
ersto"recognizethatdifferentwritings ituationsrequirediffeoenttypes
ofwriting,thatw hatisgoodinapieceofacademicliterarycriticismmay
notbegoodinanewspaperbookreviewandwillverylikelynotb egood
inabrochure"("NewRhetoric" 200). Itshouldhelpstudentssee how
writingderivesfromandrespondstosituationsthatrequireaction.
Insomecasesofpracticefromthistheoreticalperspective,students
replicatethegenres; inothers theinvestigationof therelationshipbe
tweentextandcontextisthesolepurposeofthequestioning.Sometheo
ristsworrythatthisapproachstillfocuses toamuchonthetext,notal
lowingenoughroomforthechangeandvariationthatis partofgenre
theory,especiallyif thesamplesstudentsinvestigatearetoolimitedin
numberortoosimilartoeachother.Othertheoristswonderifit'sreally
possibletoseethewholesituationfromoutsidethecontext,justb ylook
ingatthetext.Theybelievethismethodofexploration^wouldprovidea
somewhatsuperficialsense ofthesituationand thereforea somewhat
limitedabilitytodeterminerhetoricaleffectiveness.
(Thegenre as practicegrniip^fopusps mostonthecontextandthe
dynamicnatureofgenres, tothepointthatsohieadherentsassertthat
genresareimpossibletoteachinaclassroom. Instead,proponentstake
anapproachsimilartoGee'sapplicationsoflearnedversusacquiredlit
eracy,inwhichhestatesthat"someonecannotengageinaDiscoursein
a less thanfullyfluentmanner. You areeitherinitor you'renot.Dis
coursesareconnectedwithd isplaysofanidentity"(155).Applyingthis

25

26

{6

PartI:Theory

perspectivetowritinga ndwritinginstruction,SidneyI. Dobrinexplains:

"Thesystems bywhichweinterpretarenotcodifiable inanylogical
mannersincediscoursedoesnotoperateinanylogicosystemicmanner
andneverremainsstaticlongenoughtodevelopconcreteunderstand
ingsof thecommunicativeinteraction, ha otherwords,there are no
codifiableprocessesbywhichwecancharacterize,identify,solidify,grasp
discourse,and,hence,j|iereisnowavtoteach discourse,discoursein
terpretation,ordiscoursedisruption"(13233).
Theoristsfromothertheoreticalpositions(genreastextandgenre
asrhetoric)mightquestionthevalueofthetheoryifitcan'thaveanim
pactineducatingstudentsinwritingandreading,althoughDobrinde
fendsthat,too:"Classroomapplicationneednotalwaysbethemeasure
forvalueoftheory" (133). Still, teachersmightwonderhowtoprepare
studentsforwritingoutsideofschoolifthereisnowaytoreplicatesitu
ationalcontexts inclasses andthereforenowaytoteach aboutgenres
tm'tilstudentsencounterthemontheirown.Sometheoristsatthisend
ofthecontinuumrecommend,instead,teachingawarenessofgenres"to
inculcatereceptive skills ... turn[ing]awayfrom developingrhetorical
skillsandtowarddevelopmentvofrhetoricalsensibilities"(Petraglia62).
Thus,teacherswiththisperspectivemightbemorelikelytote&chabout
contextthanabouttexts.Thosewithothertheoreticalperspectivesand
socialagendasmightfindsuchanapproachane vasionofthehardwork
ofteachingwritingaswellasaroutetoreducedopportunitiesforequity.
Inaverygeneralway,thisisanoverviewofcontemporarygenre
theoryandits usesintheclassroom.Like thetipofaniceberg,thereis
morecomplexityanddetailtothetheorythanispresentedhere.Apas
sageinDevitt'sbookhintsatthedepthofthinkingthathasoccurred,is
occurring,andwilloccurrelatedtogenre theory:"Manyareasofgenre
theorystillneedfurtherresearchandexploration.Forexample, notall
genresallow asimple matchupwithaparticularsetof contexts;some
mightinteractwithmultiplecontexts. Notall contexts thatpeoplede
fine as recurringproducerecognizedgenres, andsomemayproduce
morethanone genre. Peoplemay, ofcourse, mixgenres andmixcon
texts,andtheymayusegenresbadly.Genresmaybeunsuccessful,fail,
or'dieout.Genreristoorichasubjecttobeminedcompletelyinjusto ne
volume" {Writing31). Withthesewords,Devittacknowledgessomeof
thequestionsstilltobeaddressedbytheorists.In'theappendixes,lad
dresssomeadditionalquestionsandissuesrelatedtogenretheory.Ina n
efforttoaddresssomeoftheconcernsDevittmentions,Ialsoexplaina
little moreaboutsomeof thenewdirectionsin whichgenretheoryis
moving.

Theory&ResearchIntoPractice

iJt^^[Kio(Ki0 wi^oiroiK)^ m

eoG^

Staff Editor; BeckyStandard

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