Genre

A genre is a division of a particular form of art according to criteria particular to that form. In all art forms, genres are vague categories with no fixed boundaries. Genres are formed by sets of conventions, and many works cross into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

Genre in philosophy

The concept of "genre" has played a notable role among philosophers of language, figuring very prominently in the works of philosopher and literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin's basic observations were of "speech genres", modes of speaking or writing that people learn to mimic, weave together, and manipulate (such as "formal letter" and "grocery list", or "university lecture" and "class notes"). (See also heteroglossia.)

Related Topics:
Philosophers of language - Mikhail Bakhtin - Heteroglossia

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