Genre and Metagenre

Thursday, 9:15-10:45

Room 3/B012 (E02.012) [Hybrid Seminar]

First meeting: 21.04.2022 (online via BigBlueButton)

Content

“Genre” is a collective term for a sort of texts that have specific characteristics in common with regard to form, content, style, or even function. Apart from the major genres of poetry, narrative texts and drama, there are numerous subgenres (e.g. sonnets, short stories, comedies, etc.) or in-between genres (e.g. epic, dramatic monologue, novel in verse, dialogue novel, closet drama, etc.), but also other variations that escape clear-cut categories, because they challenge or reflect on generic conventions. The ambiguities of certain literary texts, especially from the twentieth century, are furthermore indicated by categories such as “metatheatre” (Lionel Abel) and “metafiction” (Linda Hutcheon), or self-reflexive literature in form of the “anti-novel”, the “anti-play” and experimental poetry. Therefore, this seminar deals with literary genres beyond the conventional classifications, in order to discuss the wide scope of literature's reinvention in the twentieth century.

In addition to a survey of the main genres and their core features, we will focus on texts that deviate from them, as Samuel Beckett's shorter plays Act Without Words I & II, What Where, Angela Carter's novel The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, or poetry by Edwin Morgan, Stevie Smith and others. These readings will be enhanced by relevant theoretical texts on different genres, narratology, postmodern writings, experimentalism, gender and more.

Objectives

This seminar seeks to re-evaluate the reliability of generic features of literary texts for a categorisation and analysis, thereby making students aware of the texts' playful engagement with common expectations towards genres. On top of that, various issues will be explored on the basis of theoretical/critical material, such as self-reflexiveness, experimental and subversive strategies.

Requirements for Credit (5 ECTS):

Close readings of primary, theoretical as well as secondary texts, discussions and oral presentations. For the PVL, each student can either do an oral presentation (approx. 20 minutes) or complete a written task (1500-2000 words).

The module 5.2 will be completed with an oral exam of 30 minutes (one topic from this seminar and one topic from the research colloquium).

Set Texts:

Please obtain the following book and use the ISBN number to make sure it is the

correct edition:

Carter, Angela (2011 [1972]): The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. London: Penguin. ISBN: 978-0141192390

The reader, number 71, will be available at the Uni-Copy Dietze, Reichenhainer Str 55.