ABSTRACT

During the early days of the process movement, articles in composition journals rarely addressed the concept of “genre.” Because the movement focused on self-expression and the discovery of personal voice as a means of empowering marginalized populations, “genre” was viewed as an old fashioned, traditional, and outmoded concept, associated with an emphasis on rigidity and formalist conventions. Recently, however, the word “genre” has been redefined in terms of function rather than form, appearing with increased frequency in scholarly journals and offering new possibilities for the composition class. This chapter will discuss the recent reconceptualization of genre as a significant concept in composition, focusing on the following aspects of the topic:

The distinction between traditional and rhetorical notions of genre. The genre-based curriculum in Australia. The controversy over which genres should be privileged in the writing

class. The relationship between genre knowledge and creativity. The question of whether academic genres should or can be taught

explicitly. Connections between the new “rhetorical” concept of genre and recent

reconceptions of literary genres.