The Scale of Genre

IF 0.8 2区文学 0 LITERATURE

New Literary History Pub Date : 2021-08-12 DOI:10.1353/nlh.2021.0012

R. King

引用次数: 5

Abstract

Abstract:This article argues for the privileged position of genre at the middle scale in literary analysis, showing how genre categories locate texts within literary-historical contexts and thus reveal the processes of literary change. Examining two major recent methodological developments in literary studies—the new formalism and the digital humanities—it calls for disentangling the terms "form" and "genre" to recognize the different scales on which they operate. The essay proposes a method of generic reading that focuses on changes both among genres—the emergence of new genres, the implementation of existing ones, or the decline in previously significant ones—and within particular genres. To demonstrate this method, it considers the genre of the epistolary pamphlet and the particular uses to which it was put during the early abolitionist debate of the turn of the nineteenth century. Generic reading incorporating computational analysis shows how this genre helped to establish a news environment that was ongoing, cyclical, dialogic, and ephemeral. More broadly, this method shows how shifting genre categories drive literary change over time.

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流派的规模

摘要：本文主张体裁在文学分析中处于中等规模的特权地位，展示了体裁类别如何在文学历史语境中定位文本，从而揭示文学变革的过程。考察文学研究中最近两个主要的方法论发展——新形式主义和数字人文学科——它呼吁解开“形式”和“流派”这两个术语的纠缠，以认识到它们运作的不同尺度。这篇文章提出了一种通用阅读方法，重点关注流派之间的变化——新流派的出现、现有流派的实施或以前重要流派的衰落——以及特定流派内部的变化。为了证明这种方法，它考虑了书信体小册子的类型，以及它在19世纪初早期废奴主义辩论中的特殊用途。结合计算分析的一般阅读显示了这种类型如何帮助建立一个持续、循环、对话和短暂的新闻环境。更广泛地说，这种方法显示了随着时间的推移，体裁类别的变化是如何推动文学变革的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

New Literary History LITERATURE-

CiteScore

1.50

自引率

11.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： New Literary History focuses on questions of theory, method, interpretation, and literary history. Rather than espousing a single ideology or intellectual framework, it canvasses a wide range of scholarly concerns. By examining the bases of criticism, the journal provokes debate on the relations between literary and cultural texts and present needs. A major international forum for scholarly exchange, New Literary History has received six awards from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.