Transcript Genre theory, knowledge organisation and fiction
Genre theory, knowledge organisation and fiction
Dr Pauline Rafferty Department of Information Studies Aberystwyth University
Brief Overview
A theoretical paper which explores current genre theory and argues for an approach to the understanding of genre, and ultimately the description of genre, that is based on a cultural materialist, historical world-view.
Approaches to fiction
19
th
century approaches: treat fiction from a knowledge perspective (e.g. DDC literature for scholars)
20
th
century approaches: fiction as cultural documentation; fiction for leisure, for pleasure
Literary warrant based: Clare Beghtol’s Experimental Fiction Analysis System
Character Events Space Time “Other”
User warrant based: Pejtersen and Austin’s Analysis and Mediation of Publications system (AMP)
1. subject matter
a. action and course of events b. psychological development and description c. social relations
2. frame: setting
a. time: past, present, future b. place: geographical, social environment, profession
3. author’s intentions
a. emotional experience b. cognition and information
4. accessibility
a. readability b. physical characteristics, literary form
Library of Congress, British Library, GSAFD and Genre LC’s Guidelnes on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama etc genre terms include: Adventure (UF thriller, swashbuckler) Gangster film (UF crime film) Legal stories (UF novels that deal with law, legal procedure, courts etc) Mystery fiction (UF detective and mystery fiction, murder mysteries, whodunnits, private eye stories, mysteries (generally),
Robinsonades
Term Robinsonades
SNUse for works describing an individual's or a small group's survival without the aid of civilization, as on a deserted island.
UFApocalyptic fantasies UFEnd-of-the-world fantasies
BT
Adventure fiction
BT
Voyages, Imaginary MTRobinsonades [ lcsh ]
BL on genre in late 1990s
“Historically speaking, several genres have only come into existence in the twentieth-century, for example, thrillers and modern love stories. To place classic, pre-twentieth-century novels in twentieth-century genres would be anachronistic”.
Jane Eyre/Charlotte Brontë [not 655 Love stories] 650 Governesses-England-Fiction 651 England-Social life and customs-19th century-Fiction Emma/Jane Austen [not 655 Domestic fiction] 650 Young women-England-Fiction 651 England-Social life and customs-19th century-Fiction
Anat Vernitski and Intertextuality (2007)
Developing an intertextuality-oriented fiction classification, Journal of librarianship and information science, 39(1), 41-52 .
Quotation Exact quotation misquotation Allusion Title allusion Name allusion Adaptation Same theme, different form Same form, different theme Sequels
Literary Theory: Genre as Classification
What constitutes a “class” in genre classification?
What are the unit members of classes in genre classification?
John Frow (2006),
schema
and class
Genre as cues enabling us to interpret knowledge in relation to specific domain Genre also an operative function which in the right context activates the relevant conceptual meaning
Frow’s “projected worlds”
“a relatively bounded and schematic domain of meanings, values and affects, accompanied by a set of instructions for handling them.
Any world can be described through a coherent set of propositions, and generated reality-effects specific to it: some worlds claim a high reality status, others announce themselves as fictional or hypothetical” (86).
Fowler, A. (1982),
Kinds of Literature
Clarendon , Oxford, “[i]f genres are to be represented in feature space, therefore, a series of synchronic maps will be required, in order to do some justice to their changing relationship. No existing maps, however, make much of an attempt to take the diachronic existence of genres into account” (249).
Methodological Procedure Identify the range of texts that might be considered part of the genre and decide on a formulation of inclusion.
Identify pre-texts. Identify the syntagms (narrative chains) and paradigms (dominant genre type, characters, locations) within the initial (1969-1970) novels. Using an historical framework, locate each novel within its appropriate “slot” in the frame for analytical purposes. Code each novel against initial set of codes. A picture of small transformations emerges from this analysis which provides a rich diachronic analysis.
Methodological Procedure Paradigms: the choice of specific signifiers in opposition to other possible signifiers. For critical social semioticians these choices involve ideological implications. In this study, paradigmatic choice relates to the types of characters, e.g heroes and villains. Syntagms: are combinations or chains of elements that form a meaningful whole within a text. In this study, syntagmatic combinations refer to plot and narrative. The range and types of plots circulating in novels at any synchronic moment is of interest, as are the transformations in plots over time.
Mapping the novels Replication: used for novels which adhere closely to the conventions of Troubles genre identified through an examination of the earliest texts. The heroes will tend to be British Security Services, villains will be IRA operatives, and women will be depicted as girlfriends or victims. Modification: used for novels which generally adhere to the conventions of Troubles genre, but which may display specific differences.
Challenge: used for novels that do not adhere to the conventions of the Troubles genre but construct alternative representations. Novels which critique conventional representations will also be included in this category. This category will be much smaller than the other two.
Hall, S., (2001), “Encoding/Decoding”, in Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D. M., (eds.), Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, Oxford, Blackwells, pp.166-177 Dominant : when the viewer decodes the message in terms of the reference code in which it has been encoded, operating inside the dominant code (2001, 174). Negotiated: decoding within the negotiated version accords the privileged position to the dominant definitions of events while reserving the right to make a more negotiated pplication to local conditions, to its own more corporate positions (2001, 175).
Oppositional: A viewer might perfectly to understand both the literal and the connotative inflection given by a discourse but to decode the message in a globally contradictory way. He/she decodes within some alternative framework of reference. (2001, 175).
Categories in Data Gathering Sheets Bibliographic information Dominant affective genre Plot summary label Representations of key characters Modality markers Ideology stance Relation to genre conventions Description and function The information will include recording author, title, publisher, date of publication, place, nationality of author, where known The dominant genre type that best describes the novel will be recorded. A plot summary statement will be recorded for each novel.
Paradigmatic choices about heroes, villains and female characters.
Where possible modality markers will be established and identified. These might include reference to the material world (places, people, institutions, events).
Ideological stance is related to positive, neutral or negative attitudes towards the personnel, policies, politics and activities relating to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Replicate, modify, challenge
Biblio
The Killing of Yesterday’s Children, M.S. Powers, Chatto and Windus, 1985
Dominant Affective Genre Plot Summary Label
Thriller (intrigue and dirty tricks)
Representation of key characters (heroes, women, activists, security personnel) Modality Marker Ideology Marker
Arthur Apple, ex-diplomat, fronts a betting shop to launder IRA money for Seamus Reilly. Apple reports to the British Colonel Maddox who works closely with John Asher of the RUC. Apple dislikes Asher. Martin Deeley is to kill Maddox at his Berkshire home but kills Maddox’s driver Reilly leaks Deeley ’s name to Maddox. Apple offers Deeley safe haven in his house. Deeley kidnaps Asher. Apple and Deeley negotiate a deal to get Deeley out of Ireland. Maddox negotiates with Reilly who agrees to rescue Asher if the IRA can have Apple and
Hero
: Mr Arthur Apple: eccentric. Talks with spirits, Sepher and Mr Divine. He was tortured in South America. He believes that he and Deeley are connected and their fates are intertwined.
Women
: Daphne, the prostitute who is in love with Martin Deeley.
Republicans
: Martin Deeley: He is a 26 years old killer. His father and brother were killed by the British Army wrongly suspected of being in the IRA. He realises that Apple is clever and wiser than he appears, and he grows fond of Apple Seamus Reilly: IRA godfather. Dapper and well presented, he doesn’t kill himself but organises other operatives to kill for him. He “talent-spotted” Martin Deeley. Deeley. Reilly and the IRA invade Apple’s house, recapture Asher and shoot Deeley. Apple dies of a heart attack and they plant the gun on him.
British:
Colonel Maddox: an aesthetic looking English colonel. Apple likes Maddox who has views about loyalty and playing straight.
RUC:
John Asher: hard and ruthless, Asher does deals with the IRA and manages Belfast in a fairly complex, and corrupt way. No reference to real historical events. Lots of metaphysical content – The Troubles consist of the IRA, the RUC and the British Army. The way in which the explicitly in relation to Apple’s visions and visitations - but also in relation to other characters e.g. the bond of sympathy between Maddox and Reilly at the negotiation interview (p. 249). Set in Belfast and Berkshire. situation is managed is complex and corrupt, so that there are deals going on between the big players in the IRA, RUC and the Army. Young boys, barely children, are recruited, involved and killed, and it doesn’t make any difference, nobody really notices.
Author Leitch, Maurice Bradford, Roy. Holland, Jack. Title Grant, David Emerald Decision McNamara, Michael The Sovereign Solution Silver's City The Last Ditch The Prisoner’s Wife, Date Genre 1980 Thriller (chase, dirty tricks) 1980 Thriller (two brothers) Replicate Modify Challenge X 1981 Thriller (chase) 1981 Thriller (political) 1981 Thriller (IRA in-fighting) X X X X Judd, Alan. A Breed of Heroes. North, Michael Mission to Ulster Higgins, George, V. The Patriot Game Holloway,Rupert Gibson, Tom Harriott, Ted Seymour, Gerald Gill, Bartholemew Higgins, Jack Power, M.S. Shannon, James The Terrorist Conspiracy A Wild Hope No Sanctuary. Field of Blood McGarr and the Method of Descartes Confessional The Killing of Yesterday’s Children. A Game of Soldiers Howlett, John Powers, Maurice. S Orange. Lonely the Man Without Heroes 1981 Thriller (army memoirs) X 1981 Thriller (revenge) 1982 Thriller (chase) Thriller (Terror 1982 International) 1983 Thriller (chase) X X X X 1983 Thriller (chase) 1985 Thriller (supergrass) Thriller (foiled 1985 Republican plot) 1985 Thriller (chase) X X 1985 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1985 Thriller (revenge) 1985 Thriller (foiled Loyalist operation) X X X X X X Ould, Chris Power, M.S A Kind of Sleep, A Darkness in the Eye Newman, Gordon.F. The Testing Ground. Anthony, Evelyn Clancy, Tom No Enemy but Time Patriot Games Gilbert, Michael. Trouble Armstong, Campbell Jig Kelly, James. The Marrow from the Bone Murphy, James Juniper 1986 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1986 Thriller (revenge of ex IRA man) 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks) X 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1987 Thriller (IRA chase ex IRA man) 1987 Thriller (Terror International) 1987 Thriller (Terror International) 1987 Thriller (chase) X X X X 1987 Thriller (political) 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks,) 1988 Thriller (chase, dirty tricks) X X X X X Rankin, Ian Michaels. Sarah .J. Joyce, Joe Watchman, Justice: One Man’s War against the IRA. Off the Record 1988 Thriller (revenge) 1989 Thriller (political) X X
1980s Modification thrillers Author Grant, David Bradford, Roy. Holland, Jack. Emerald Decision The Last Ditch The Prisoner’s Wife, Seymour, Gerald Power, M.S Field of Blood Higgins, Jack Power, M.S. Powers, Maurice. S Confessional The Killing of Yesterday’s Children. Lonely the Man Without Heroes A Darkness in the Eye Newman, Gordon.F. The Testing Ground. Kelly, James. The Marrow from the Bone Murphy, James Juniper Rankin, Ian Joyce, Joe Title Watchman, Off the Record Date Genre Thriller (chase, dirty 1980 tricks) 1981 Thriller (political) 1981 Thriller (IRA in-fighting) Replicate Modify Challenge X X X 1985 Thriller (supergrass) 1985 Thriller (chase) 1985 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1986 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks) 1987 Thriller (political) 1987 Thriller (dirty tricks,) Thriller (chase, dirty 1988 tricks) 1989 Thriller (political) X X X X X X X X X X
Bildungsromans Novels Author Title Johnston, Jennifer Shadows on our Skin Woods, Una The Dark Hole Days Gibson, Elizabeth The Water is Wide Molloy, Mary No Mate for the Magpie Madden, Deirdre Morrison, Danny Wilson, Robert McLiam Patterson, Glenn Park, David Hidden Symptoms West Belfast. Ripley Bogle Fat Lad The Healing Patterson, Glenn Paisley, Rhonda. Beattie, Geoffrey Burning your Own Lost Fathers The Corner Boys. Date 1977 1984 1984 1985 1986 1989 1989 1989 1992 1993 1995 1998 Replicate Modify Challenge X X X X X X X X X X X X
Figure 2: Overview of the complete set of bildungsromans in the data set
Using genre theory in a KO framework
This study bridges the gap between the discussion of genre as an abstracted macro-level system
and individual novels as instantiations of genre is bridged by the empirical, descriptively-based method.
Genre theory, KO and fiction In the analysis of genre formation, the relationship between the macro-level perspective of generic system and the micro-level perspective of specific novelists and specific novels is best explored through specific concrete description and comparisons of material texts both at the level of the synchronic moment and diachronically.
Genre theory, knowledge organisation and fiction
Dr Pauline Rafferty Department of Information Studies Aberystwyth University