Dr Natalia Rulyova
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: CREES
Abstract
It is proposed to develop a genre studies network which will stimulate new debate across disciplinary, theoretical, methodological, and international boundaries via a series of six workshops. This project is conceived as a stepping stone towards developing the first UK Centre for Genre Studies. Since antiquity the concept of genre which was first developed by Plato and Aristotle has gone through numerous translations from one culture to another, one medium to another, or from one discipline to another. In the process of translation, genres can transform, mutate, adapt to new conditions. Sometimes it leads to the emergence of new genres which usually appear as a result of cross-fertilisation and hybridisation. However, the relevance of the concept has never disappeared and if anything it has grown, especially in the context of new media in which humans have to process information faster than ever before. Genre, as taxonomy, is a helpful tool for creating meaning and making sense out of reality. Hence, the notion of genre needs to be reviewed in light of recent technological developments and the advent of Twitter, facebook, the blogosphere and other media. Since the classic triad of genres was defined (epic, tragic, comedy), the number of genres has grown exponentially to include new literary, music, cinematic, television, media, and other genres. Genre is a fundamentally cross-disciplinary category, which needs to be studied with the help of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches.
The pilot workshop Genre in Contemporary Russian Culture, which was funded by CEELBAS and held at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, the University of Birmingham (27 June 2011) has successfully demonstrated the fruitfulness of genre studies when applied to the study of one culture. The current project aims to extend genre studies approaches to European cultures. The six proposed workshops will focus on six main themes: theories of genre and methodologies applied to the study of genre, genre in translation, genre and new technologies, genre and gender, genre and the canons of representations, communicating the genre (the author, the text and the audience). All workshops will draw on the expertise of leading UK and international scholars from across the fields of modern foreign languages, literary, cultural, media, film and gender studies, the arts and visual culture. Academics will be encouraged to develop multidisciplinary approaches to genre in broader cultural contexts and to work in cooperation with practitioners who will contribute to discussion of genre at roundtables. To attract broader public interest, the series will be opened by the talk given by Sam Leith, an award-nominated UK writer and columnist, who, in his recent book You Talkin' to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama (Profile Books, 2011) touches on the issues of genre in an enlightening and humorous fashion. The guest speaker at the last workshop will be the eminent Russian detective writer and translator Boris Akunin whose recent novel Quest was written in the new genre of an online book or a 'book-game', as the author calls it (see http://www.elkniga.ru/akunin/).
The project will have a dedicated webpage which will promote all events organised as part of the project and provide links to other relevant activities. All project developments will also be disseminated via Twitter. Among other project outputs, there will be the selected podcasts of academic papers and talks given by guest speakers, a special issue on genre studies in an academic refereed journal, 'Notes for Teachers on Genre' disseminated via the webpage, and a conference paper written by the principal investigator and published on the project webpage. Among potential beneficiaries of the project there will be library professionals and readers (workshops 1,2,6), school teachers (1) and gallery professionals (5), translators (4), new media practitioners (3), and the Russian Diaspora (6).
The pilot workshop Genre in Contemporary Russian Culture, which was funded by CEELBAS and held at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, the University of Birmingham (27 June 2011) has successfully demonstrated the fruitfulness of genre studies when applied to the study of one culture. The current project aims to extend genre studies approaches to European cultures. The six proposed workshops will focus on six main themes: theories of genre and methodologies applied to the study of genre, genre in translation, genre and new technologies, genre and gender, genre and the canons of representations, communicating the genre (the author, the text and the audience). All workshops will draw on the expertise of leading UK and international scholars from across the fields of modern foreign languages, literary, cultural, media, film and gender studies, the arts and visual culture. Academics will be encouraged to develop multidisciplinary approaches to genre in broader cultural contexts and to work in cooperation with practitioners who will contribute to discussion of genre at roundtables. To attract broader public interest, the series will be opened by the talk given by Sam Leith, an award-nominated UK writer and columnist, who, in his recent book You Talkin' to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama (Profile Books, 2011) touches on the issues of genre in an enlightening and humorous fashion. The guest speaker at the last workshop will be the eminent Russian detective writer and translator Boris Akunin whose recent novel Quest was written in the new genre of an online book or a 'book-game', as the author calls it (see http://www.elkniga.ru/akunin/).
The project will have a dedicated webpage which will promote all events organised as part of the project and provide links to other relevant activities. All project developments will also be disseminated via Twitter. Among other project outputs, there will be the selected podcasts of academic papers and talks given by guest speakers, a special issue on genre studies in an academic refereed journal, 'Notes for Teachers on Genre' disseminated via the webpage, and a conference paper written by the principal investigator and published on the project webpage. Among potential beneficiaries of the project there will be library professionals and readers (workshops 1,2,6), school teachers (1) and gallery professionals (5), translators (4), new media practitioners (3), and the Russian Diaspora (6).
Planned Impact
1. Library Professionals. A report, commissioned by JISC and SCONUL, identifies challenges that libraries face in 'a user environment increasingly dominated by high expectations around ease of delivery, unhindered access to resources and their integration with user-generated content'. (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2008/04/lms.aspx) The report finds that 'libraries are not yet exploiting intelligence about user habits to enhance their position in the information value chain'. (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/resourcediscovery/lmsstudy.pdf) Research into genre as taxonomy will help better understand user behaviour, i.e. how users search for types of texts, using genre as a defining characteristic. The project will foster a needed dialogue between academics and library professionals in the Midlands and help find new creative ways to use existing resources.
2. Gallery Professionals. Digital and Internet art (or web-based art) have challenged some fundamental concepts which are at the core of traditional art, such as authorship, authenticity and some others. Within these new digital art forms old genres have mutated and new ones have emerged. The project aims to explore not only theoretical but practical implications of the appearance of new genres and modes of representation for galleries and viewers.
3. The Diaspora and translators. Translating cultures is an emerging theme identified by AHRC. This project focuses on one aspect of this theme, which is here defined as translating genre. Project findings will be directly relevant to practicing translators and members of the Diaspora who regularly negotiate meaning in a target language, and genre mutations and transformations play an important part in this process of meaning construction (the ways in which these two groups of beneficiaries will be targeted are described separately and in detail in 'Pathways to Impact').
4. Educators. According to David Russel (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~drrussel/at%26genre/at%26genre.html) genre could be defined not only as a set of definable formal features of the text but also 'in relation to systems or networks of social activity and action'. In the latter sense, genres can be understood as 'forms of life, ways of being, frames for social action... environments for learning and teaching'. The project will provide an opportunity for school teachers and lecturers to explore genre as an educational tool that can be effectively used in the classroom. There is a need for it, especially in order to increase a repertoire of enquiry-based teaching and learning tools. In addition, the workshops will help develop new ways of teaching genre as a topic.
5. Readers and the wider public. The project will fulfil the need for increasing awareness of readers and viewers of existing preconceptions about relationship between genre and gender. Participants will be invited to discuss whether, in their view, there are female and male modes of writing, whether different genres speak to different genders, whether their choice of literature and film is determined by their gender or the gender of the people surrounding them. The discussion will feed back to academic research about gender and genre (the ways in which these two groups of beneficiaries will be targeted are described separately and in detail in 'Pathways to Impact').
6. New media practitioners. Preliminary research into genre in the Russian blogosphere by PI has revealed that bloggers' choice of genre online is often in correspondence with a theme of their message. For instance, anxiety caused by the uncertainly about the future of Russia facing internal and external pressure is regularly expressed by bloggers in the genre of futuristic fiction or science fiction. Further research is needed into genre on the internet which would have direct impact on new media practitioners and internet users.
2. Gallery Professionals. Digital and Internet art (or web-based art) have challenged some fundamental concepts which are at the core of traditional art, such as authorship, authenticity and some others. Within these new digital art forms old genres have mutated and new ones have emerged. The project aims to explore not only theoretical but practical implications of the appearance of new genres and modes of representation for galleries and viewers.
3. The Diaspora and translators. Translating cultures is an emerging theme identified by AHRC. This project focuses on one aspect of this theme, which is here defined as translating genre. Project findings will be directly relevant to practicing translators and members of the Diaspora who regularly negotiate meaning in a target language, and genre mutations and transformations play an important part in this process of meaning construction (the ways in which these two groups of beneficiaries will be targeted are described separately and in detail in 'Pathways to Impact').
4. Educators. According to David Russel (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~drrussel/at%26genre/at%26genre.html) genre could be defined not only as a set of definable formal features of the text but also 'in relation to systems or networks of social activity and action'. In the latter sense, genres can be understood as 'forms of life, ways of being, frames for social action... environments for learning and teaching'. The project will provide an opportunity for school teachers and lecturers to explore genre as an educational tool that can be effectively used in the classroom. There is a need for it, especially in order to increase a repertoire of enquiry-based teaching and learning tools. In addition, the workshops will help develop new ways of teaching genre as a topic.
5. Readers and the wider public. The project will fulfil the need for increasing awareness of readers and viewers of existing preconceptions about relationship between genre and gender. Participants will be invited to discuss whether, in their view, there are female and male modes of writing, whether different genres speak to different genders, whether their choice of literature and film is determined by their gender or the gender of the people surrounding them. The discussion will feed back to academic research about gender and genre (the ways in which these two groups of beneficiaries will be targeted are described separately and in detail in 'Pathways to Impact').
6. New media practitioners. Preliminary research into genre in the Russian blogosphere by PI has revealed that bloggers' choice of genre online is often in correspondence with a theme of their message. For instance, anxiety caused by the uncertainly about the future of Russia facing internal and external pressure is regularly expressed by bloggers in the genre of futuristic fiction or science fiction. Further research is needed into genre on the internet which would have direct impact on new media practitioners and internet users.
Organisations
- University of Birmingham (Lead Research Organisation)
- Library of Birmingham (Collaboration)
- British Film Institute (BFI) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF WEST LONDON (Collaboration)
- British-Russian Society (Project Partner)
- Academia Rossica (Project Partner)
- University of Bergen (Project Partner)
- University of West London (Project Partner)
- Library of Birmingham (Project Partner)
- University of Leeds (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Nataliya Rulyova (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Rulyova N
(2017)
Changing News Genres as a Result of Global Technological Developments New news genres
in Digital Journalism
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Rulyova N
(2017)
Emerging Genres in New Media Environments
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Rulyova N
(2016)
Genres Studies around the Globe: Beyond the Three Traditions
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Rulyova N
(2015)
Genre Trajectories: Identifying, Mapping and Projecting
Description | The key finding was the necessity to establish a dialogue between the more traditional understanding of genre as a way of typifying and classifying different types of texts, as developed in literary studies, art history, film studies and other disciplines since Aristotle, and the relatively new understanding of genre as 'social action', as developed in New Rhetorical Studies, English for Special Purposes and Linguistics since the 1980s. The Genre Studies Network GSN) has brought together scholars who represent these two approaches to genre. The volume Genre Trajectories: Identifying, Mapping and Projecting, which is based on the papers given at seven GSN workshops, will contain chapters on genre theories and methodologies as they are applied from the two perspectives. Gunther Kress, Natasha Artemeva and Don Myles, and Anne Smedegaard will discuss genre as it relates to social reality. Their theories and methodologies originate in pedagogical studies but go far beyond them, especially in Kress's theoretical development of the fundamental notion of genre and how it reflects technological advancements in social reality. Antonio Sanchez, Sarah Parker, Lesley Stevenson will, on the other hand, continue the conversation about genre by drawing on more traditional literary definitions of genre. Sarah Parker will scrutinise the relationship between genre and gender by analysing the female poetic identity in lyric poetry. Peter Buse will investigate the ways, in which genres change and mutate with the advent of new technologies by focusing on the new genre of selfie in relation to the age-old portrait. Simone Schroth will discuss changes that have occurred to literary genres as a result of developments in new media by looking at email novels. The GSN has identified productive links between genre studies and memory studies. An extra, the 7th workshop, was organised in collaboration with two Memory Studies groups at the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham. Beatrice Damamme-Gilbert's and Katya Krylova's contributions to Genre Trajectories will testify the usefulness of genre approaches in research in memory. Rulyova has written a chapter for the volume Emerging Genres in New Media Environments (edited by Carolyn Miller, forthcoming in 2015, Routledge) on the use of new technological devices (mobile phones, smart phones, dashboard cameras, etc.), genres (stories, jokes, etc.) and media platforms (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) by ordinary Russian citizens. The research for this chapter has led to new important research questions, in particular, about our changing understanding of the news as a genre. We need to explore how citizens in different geo-political environments and linguistic cultures receive, identify, disseminate and create news stories, especially with the advent of new media. With the emergence of the active new media user, it is my hypothesis that the user determines what the news is and, therefore, news items could appear in a greater variety of genres (a post on the Facebook, a tweet, a selfie etc.), not only traditional media news genres (news report, article, etc.). To further explore these questions, Rulyova, in collaboration with John McNight, the University of Lancaster, will be applying for funding to carry out research on the news as a genre. In the course of the project, several new productive collaborations have emerged: between Rulyova, the GSN, and Natasha Artemeva at Carleton University, Canada; between Rulyova, the GSN, and Carolyn Miller, the University of North Carolina, the USA; between Rulyova, the GSN and University of Fortaleza, Brazil. The GSN was at the epicentre of genre research and timely, having added to the rise of interest in genre studies in 2010-14. The outputs of genre activities in these years will include a cluster of three edited volumes on genre to be published in 2015, including Rulyova and Dowd, Genre Trajectories (Palgrave); Miller, Emerging Genres in New Media Environments (Routledge), and Artemeva, Genre 2012 (Inkshed Publication). |
Exploitation Route | Academic routes: In collaboration with John McNight, Rulyova will further explore our changing understanding of the news as a genre, drawing on genre as social action and audience studies. McNight and Rulyova intend to apply for funding to carry out this international, inter- and cross-disciplinary project to study how news items are distributed, identified and created in a variety of genres, media and new technologies. Further collaboration is planned with the University of Fortaleza which has become a centre for genre studies in Brazil (SIGET symposium in 2013). The first Brazilian PhD student is visiting the University of Birmingham in September-November 2014. Further visits and potential academic exchanges are being considered. Brazilian academic partners are potentially interested to take part in the news project. Following his participation in the GSN Workshop Canons of Representation, Prof. Uffelmann organised The i-Rhetoric in Russian: Performing the Self through Mobile Technology conference at the University of Passau, Germany, on 12-14 June 2014. Rulyova was invited to give a talk on identity, genre and social media at the conference. Since then, Prof. Uffelmann invited Rulyova to participate in the roundtable on Digital Rhetoric in Russian at the ICCEES in Japan on 3 August 2015. Non-academic routes: Contacts will be maintained with the Birmingham Central Library, the British Film Institute and Kate Nolan, an independent artist. It is planned to get in touch with all of them in spring 2015 to find out whether their practices have been impacted by the GSN outputs. After the publication of Genre Trajectories, it is planned to send an overview and the reviews of the volume to secondary schools in Birmingham, with the note describing the potential impact of genre studies on pedagogy. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/research/genre-studies-network.aspx |
Description | The outcomes of the Genre Studies Network grant have been useful to the following professional groups and members of the general public: 1) Writers and readers. The opening workshop launched a fruitful dialogue between the practicing writer and journalist Sam Leith (London) who wrote a popular book about rhetoric (You Talkin' to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama) and the leading Professor in Rhetorical Studies Carolyn Miller (North Carolina, USA). The members of the workshop and virtual audience (both presentations are available to be viewed at http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2012/workshop-1.aspx and via the Facebook GSN page https://www.facebook.com/#!/ ) were presented with complimentary views on genre: Leith's professional view on genre as a journalist, Leith's understanding of genre based on his research into classical rhetoric and Miller's understanding of genre as 'social action'. The workshop demonstrated an effective exchange of knowledge between literary practitioners and academics, as well as knowledge dissemination to wider general public. The dialogue has had an impact on the way in which writers, general public and scholars can apply the term 'genre' in their daily practice. 2) Library staff. The main beneficiary of the GSN outcomes is the Birmingham Central Library. Sue Wilkinson, Events and Engagement Manager, participated in the work of the GSN. She discussed ways in which genre is defined and applied in daily practice by library staff and readers. In response, she learnt about new and challenging notions of genre - as social action. As the Birmingham Central Library has since moved into a new extraordinary building, these new ways of thinking about genre are particularly useful. How has the role of the library changed in the city landscape? How do people use the library? The old questions (such as 'What genres do people read?') need to be repalced with new ones provoked by new research into genre, such as 'In what genres do people use the library?'. The answer to that question is in relating genre to social action. Genre has had an impact on how librarians can analyse and improve their services to readers. 3) Museum and film archive professionals. The main beneficiary in this category was the British Film Institute. Two BFI practitioners Jose de Esteban and Natasha Fairbairn participated in the GSN work. They exchanged their knowledge and use of genre in their daily practice at the Film archive with leading academics in Genre Studies and other members of the fifth workshop which took place in London. As in the case with the impact on the Birmingham Central library, it is likely that the relatively new understanding of genre as social action promoted by Prof. Charles Bazerman in the workshop with the BFI practitioners would have an impact on the ways in which archival work can be organised. 4) Educators. The forthcoming edited volume Genre Trajectories (to be published by Palgrave in 2015), which will be based on papers given at seven GSN workshops, will contain two chapters which will engage with the use of genre theories in the classroom at school and at the university, sharing some international experience from Canada to Denmark. The chapters will have impact on teaching practice in Europe and North America, at least. 5) Translators and new media practitioners. The PI's examination of how people use new technologies, such as smart phones and Dashboard cameras, in different countries with a particular focus on Russia, in order to record an extraordinary event and how this is interpreted in the English-language mass media (the chapter will be published in the Emerging Genres in New Media Environments volume edited by Carolyn Miller by Routledge in 2015) is likely to have some impact on how (1) media practitioners understand the 'news' as a genre; (2) how they translate news stories into foreign languages. 6) Artists. Kate Nolan, an independent artist, presented her Photobook Neither, a narrative of Kalinigrad women, to GSN participants. Her work challenges the traditional boundaries between genres and explores not only practical but also theoretical implications of the emergence of new genres. Her dialogue with scholars has had impact on her work as well as her book (which has since been published) will have impact on reading and viewing public. |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
Description | BFI |
Organisation | British Film Institute (BFI) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Scholars of genre consulted BFI archivists on New Rhetoric and other new ways of defining genre. |
Collaborator Contribution | BFI archivists gave talks at the sixth workshop on communicating genre |
Impact | Workshop Number 6 |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Birmingham City Library |
Organisation | Library of Birmingham |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Academic researchers in the area of genre studies consulted the library on defining genre from New Rhetoric perspective, which is based on linking genre to social action. |
Collaborator Contribution | Library representative shared her experience of using genre to sort out publications, to appeal to the reader, to engage with publishers, etc. |
Impact | Library representative gave a talk at the first workshop of the project. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | University of West London |
Organisation | University of West London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I was the leader of the project, the main organiser of all workshops and the leading editor of the edited volume Genre Trajectories ,based on the papers given by participants at the workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | Garin Dowd of the University of West London was a co-organiser of the workshops and a co-editor of the volume. He also was a co-author of the Introduction to Genre Trajectories. |
Impact | All the workshops and teh edited volume Genre Trajectories. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Communicating Genre: the author, the text and the audience |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The sixth workshop started with a keynote talk given by Prof. Charles Bazerman (University of California, Santa-Barbara, USA) who discussed his genre theory in an engaging and stimulating presentation entitled 'The Places and Activities Genres Make: Sense-making in the Built Symbolic Environment ' . The first panel was opened by Prof. Greg Myers (Lancaster University, UK) who presented his recent work on Twitter and audience in science. Then, Dr Anne Smedegaard (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) moved the discussion to the classroom in her presentation 'Student and teacher constructions of the 'generic contract' in high school essays'. Before lunch, Kate Nolan, an independent artist, presented her fascinating project 'Neither Photobook (narratives of Kaliningrad women)', in which she explored some narratives of Russian women who live in this most western part of Russia. After lunch, Dr Rolf Hellebust (University of Nottingham, UK) opened the second panel with his talk 'The Unfulfillable Contract: Bakhtin and the 19th-Century Russian Novel'. The literary theme was developed further by Mr Antonio M. Sánchez (University of Birmingham, UK) in his talk 'Roberto Bolaño's Nazi Literture in the Americas: Genre as Possibility or the Novel as Dictionary'. The third panel was focussed on genre and film. Dr Belén Vidal (King's College London, UK) talked about the biopic as a contemporary film genre. Her presentation was followed by the paper 'When My Gangster Movie is Your Thriller: Genres in motion at the BFI' given by two practitioners from BFI, Ms José de Esteban and Ms Natasha Fairbairn, who discussed the importance of genre in their daily archival work at the BFI film archive. The workshop finished with a stimulating roundtable discussion led by Prof. Paul Cobley. The BFI professionals said that it was useful to draw on academic knowledge of genre and share their understanding and the use of genre in archival practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2013/workshop-6.aspx |
Description | Genre and Canons of Representation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Workshop five started with the keynote presentation by Dr Michael Stewart (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK) in which he discussed 'the enduring reach of melodrama in contemporary film and culture' by drawing on both melodramatic studies and genre. The first panel was then opened by Prof. Dirk Uffelmann (University of Passau, Germany) who explored the issue of genre in digital memory studies, with some examples from him research into Russian new media. Then, the theme of medial change was developed by Dr Isabel Corona (Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain) in her paper 'Implications of Going Online for a Well Established Media Genre, i.e. the Obituary'. Due to Anna Sloan's late cancellation of her presentation, Dr Natasha Rulyova gave her paper, exploring genres in which Russian-language social media users reported on the fall of the Chelyabinsk meteor. After lunch, all participants were invited on a Genre Tour around the collection of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts led by the Barber Institute staff. The themes discussed during the tour found continuation in the following presentation by Dr Lesley Stevenson (University of West London, UK) in her paper 'Seduced by Art: the Problem of Photography', in which she discussed how photography is still judged by the canons of fine art. Photography was also the focus of the following presentation by Prof. Peter Buse (University of Salford, UK) who talked about his research into polaroid photography and Questions of the medium and genre. The roundtable discussion was led by Natasha Rulyova and mostly focussed on the questions of genre and the medium. The genre tour around the Barber Institute of Fine Arts had an impact on the discussion about genre during the sessions after lunch. later participants reported that it had stimulated the roundtable discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2013/workshop-5.aspx |
Description | Genre and Memory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | This workshop was not originally planned as part of the GSN series. It organically developed from the previous workshops. It was co-organised with the Memory Group at the University of Birmingham and the Memory Studies and the Politics of Memory group at the University of Nottingham. The first panel was chaired by Dr Joanne Sayner (University of Birmingham); it opened with the paper given by Dr Eva Axer (University of Nottingham), in which she explored genre as a concept of collective mentality by focussing on the ballad in British and German literary theories. The conversation about literature and genre was continued by Mr Michael Volek (University of British Columbia, Canada) in his presentation 'Remembering to forget: The role of time, space and memory in Mikhail Bakhtin's treatment of language'. Then, Mr Antonio M. Sánchez (University of Birmingham) discussed memory and genre in Juan José Saer's The Witness'. The second panel was chaired by Dr Franziska Meyer (University of Nottingham). It opened with the paper 'The Media of Testimony: Remembering te East German Stasi in the Berlin Republic' presented by Dr Sara Jones (University of Birmingham). The genre of testimony was further examined by Dr Katya Krylova (University of Nottingham) in her talk 'Testimony and Genre in the Films of Ruth Beckermann'. Then, Dr Angela Kershaw (University of Birmingham) addressed the audience with a proposal for a collaborative research project on a case of multi-modal trans-national memorialisation. The third session was chaired by Dr Natasha Rulyova. Dr Beatrice Damamme Gilbert (University of Birmingham) started the panel with the presentation 'The mixing of Genres in Patrick Modiano's Dora Bruder'. Dr Duncan Wheeler (University of Leeds) then talked about his new project focussing on the linguistic and cultural challenges of translating nostalgia. The workshop ended with a discussion of potential further developments of the themes discussed at the workshop. Participants discussed potential areas for future collaboration in the intersection of genre and memory. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2013/workshop-7.aspx |
Description | Genre and New Technologies |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The third workshop of the GSN series focussed on such questions as whether new technologies lead to the advent of new genres and what the differences are between the medium and genre. It consisted of two panels (Panel One: Perspectives on Genre in Light of New Technologies; Genre and the Agency in the New Media Age), and a roundtable convened by Joanne Sayner. The workshop started with a stimulating keynote presentation by Prof. Gunther Kress (Institute of Education, University of London, UK) 'Generating genre'. Prof. Kress linked the issues of genre to his cutting-edge work in the area of multimodal analysis. Then, Prof. Janet Giltrow (University of British Columbia, Canada) moved the discussion back to discursive genres and gave some insight into how Bakhtinian primary genres turn into more complex, secondary genres in her paper 'Perspectives on Genre: Motive, Form, and Medial Change'. The conversation about medial change was picked up by Dr Simone Schroth (Newcastle University/Aston University) in her paper 'More than a Modern Novel in Letters - The Email Novel as a New Genre'. Dr Vlad Strukov (University of Leeds, UK) focussed on computer games in his paper 'Configurations of Space in Computer Games: Towards a Genre Typology'. After that, Prof. Gary Hall (Coventry University, UK) posed some fundamental questions about the role of agency in his somewhat provocative talk '#MySubjectivation: How our Agency and Consciousness is Subordinated to the Calculable, Standardised, Ready-made Forms and Genres of the Cultural Industries'. Then, Dr Ranjana Das (University of Leicester, UK) discussed changing reception theory in light of new media developments in her paper 'Prospecting, in Retrospect: Three Concepts from Wolfgang Iser's Reception Aesthetics in the Networked Age'. The second panel finished with Dr Natasha Rulyova's paper (University of Birmingham, UK) 'Online Identities and Genre in the Russian-Language Social Media' Participants said that they had enjoyed a variety of 'excellent', 'stimulating' and 'engaging' papers addressing a range of approaches to genre and new technologies. They commented on how these different approaches to genre could potentially affect their thinking about genre in their discipline. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2012/workshop-3.aspx |
Description | Genre, Gender and Identity |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The second workshop of the GSN project focussed on critical approaches that can be applied to gendering and genre-ing of the text. The workshop included two panels and a roundtable. Prof. Ann Heilmann (University of Cardiff) presented her keynote presentation 'Gender, Genre and Neo-Victorian Impurities: James Miranda Barry in 20th and 21st-century biography and biofiction'. Her talk was followed by the first panel focussed on literary genres and female writers. Dr Susan Watkins (Leeds Metropolitan University) examined how genre and gender have been re-written in contemporary women's apocalyptic fiction. Dr An Goris (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) analysed the phenomenon of Nora Roberts and the ways in which she is interpreted as an author of 'feminine genre fiction'. The conversation about genres and how they become attributed a particular gender was continued by Dr Sarah Parker (Manchester Metropolitan University) in her paper 'The Muse Writes Back: Lyric Poetry and Female Poetic Identity'. The second panel explored non-literary genres. Dr Jane Sunderland (University of Lancaster) examined the representation of gay and lesbian couples in picture books in her paper 'Gender, genre and identity: the small but growing sub-genre of children's picturebooks featuring two-Mum and two-Dad families'. Then, the discussion moved to English dictionaries when Dr Lindsay Rose Russell (University of Illinois, USA) presented her paper 'Patrons of Virtue, Patterns of Honour: Women Audiences and the Manufacture of Exigence in the Emergent English Language Dictionary Genre'. The panel finished with the paper presented by Dr Mary Flanagan (Dartmouth College, USA; Ireland) who is also a new media practitioner. She talked about digital aesthetics and gender in computer games. The workshop ended with a stimulating roundtable discussion led by Dr Charlotte Ross (University of Birmingham). The workshop identified a rich and fruitful area of research in the intersection of genre and gender. Participants described the workshop as 'extremely interesting', and said that it gave them new ideas for thinking about genre and applying genre theories to their research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2012/workshop-2.aspx |
Description | Workshop 'Genre in Translation: Crossing cultural, linguistic, disciplinary, media and other boundaries' (Leeds) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | This fourth GSN workshop Four was organised in cooperation with Dr Jeremy Munday (Centre for Translation Studies, University of Leeds). The workshop was opened with a keynote presentation exploring links between adaptation studies, translation studies and genre given by Prof. John Milton (University of São Paulo, Brazil). The first panel examined questions related to the translation of literary genres. It started with a rich a stimulating talk by Prof. Peter Davies (University of Edinburgh, UK), in which he presented the findings of his long-term project focussing on genre and the ethics of translating Holocaust testimonies. Dr Angela Kershaw's paper (University of Birmingham, UK) continued the theme of the Holocaust in her paper 'Some thoughts on genre and translation in the case of narratives of the Second World War and the Holocaust'. Equally rich and interesting was the paper presented by Prof. Timothy Murphy (University of Oklahoma, USA), which was entitled 'How (Not) to Translate an Unidentified Narrative Object or a New Italian Epic'. After lunch, the second panel 'New Directions in the Analysis of Translated Genres?' started with Dr Serge Sharoff's (University of Leeds, UK) focussed discussion of 'A Cross-Linguistic View on Genres'. It then followed by the paper presented by Dr Martin Thomas (University of Leeds, UK) who delved into the complexity of multimodal analysis in his presentation 'Genre shifts in time and space: multimodality and multilinguality'? The roundtable was led by Prf. Jeremy Munday who posed to all speakers questions about inter-cultural genre communication. Participants emphasised the usefulness of multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches that genre studies methodologies lead to. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2013/workshop-4.aspx |
Description | Workshop one. Genre: theory, methodology and practice |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talks by Carolyn Miller and Sam Leith sparked most questions and discussion afterwards. The workshop covered some theoretical and some practical approaches to genre. Practitioners were represented by Sam Leith, journalist and writer, and Sue Wilkinson, Events and Engagement Manager at Birmingham Central Library. Sue Wilkinson said afterwards that she had learnt about new ways of looking at genre, in addition to the ways in which she had been using genre in her daily library work. Some academic participants said after the workshop that Sam Leith's story of how journalists learn abou |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/russian/events/2012/workshop-1.aspx |