Genre

A kind, type, or class of artistic or cultural composition, and ultimately descends from Latin genus (as in genus and species). The analogy between genre and genus is not exact, however, as the classifications determined by genus describe naturally occurring phenomena, whereas the classifications determined by genre are socially constructed. Although genre is often associated with literary composition (poetry, fiction, drama), it includes any cultural composition, whether painting (portrait, still life), music (classical, rock), or TV program (soap, sitcom). Earlier, classical genres were generally prescriptive and identified by form. Modern genres are more descriptive than prescriptive but can create a circular logic of identifying generic characteristics from examples, which themselves are classified according to the generic characteristics. All genres operate within given conventions—and presuppose a tacit agreement between author and audience, which exerts a normativizing influence over cultural expectations and performance—and are thus connected to ideology and hegemony.