1. Devitt’s
article came at a good time for me, because I have been getting increasingly
confused about what we would consider forms and what we would consider genres. Theoretically
speaking, I could make a distinction between both, but when it comes to giving
examples of forms v. genres, I am at a loss. Devitt claims that forms “trace
but do not constitute genre” (575). In the discourse I have been hearing
throughout my time here thus far, blogs, movies, websites, and other categories
all seem to be counted as genres (especially in the discussion of the
multi-genre project). But is a blog a genre or a form? How do you think about these
terms, and how would you differentiate them for your students?
2. Reiff gives us as instructors a call to
action at the end of her piece, to think about how to situate ourselves within
the institutional frameworks and the genres in which we write as a response to
these frameworks. People have already mentioned some during discussion in the
past, but what are some alternatives to the ‘prototypical’ syllabus and other
course documents that we could develop? And why might these alternatives be
more productive for our students and for our relationships with them?
Hey Esther,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your first question, I totally glad you asked this, because I sometimes catch myself before I say something is a form or genre. I think that a blog can be both essentially because it is a form of which we communicate but is also a genre that has its own conventions that we follow. I think I would point out that a genre is the overarching thing that different small things fall underneath, while form is more of the way you go about constructing something...if that makes sense. But this is a good question because I can easily see how a student can get the two mixed up. Hopefully I answered your question! :)(p.s. too bad I can't but this comment in columns)