Journal 4

Genre plays a very important role in creating or reading texts. The role of genre is very much interconnected to audience and purpose. Based on genre, an audience may narrow down the selection of books or music they want to engage with. For example, the keyword I am researching is ‘audience.’ When I research my key term, I look for scholarly articles. Within the scholarly articles genre, I get more specific and search articles about audience, rhetoric, and writing. These genres help me in making it easier to get the information I need. Millard and Sheppard seem to think that an audience is what creates and maintains a genre. Does an audience really create the genre? I am interested in knowing more about this since it is the keyword I am researching. Based on genre, an author can decide who they are writing for and what elements they decide to add in their work. Devitt had an interesting thought about genres being categories that erupt from the nature of our own brains. Composers can use genre to manipulate the audience that their text reaches.

Genre can also impact the way a text is circulated and distributed. An author keeps in mind the audience they are reaching, and the most accessible way to disseminate the information to them. Devitt gives an example of syllabi being the most efficient way for students to get access to information about a course. The article that I appreciated the most about genre was by Wysocki. He seems to emphasize on the effect that the visual presentation of a text had on determining genre. This reminded me of our discussion on the first day of class when we received the same syllabus, but in different formats. Wysocki also mentions the ephemerality of attitudes towards visual aspects. Does this mean that genres also change? 

These author’s contributions about genre are helpful as I create my ePortfolio and my exhibit for project one. I want to tailor my portfolio for a specific audience, but I want to make sure it is easy to understand for other viewers!