Genre Across the Line: Adaptations, Hoaxes and Misunderstandings
Résumé
This article examines the question of genre through the dual issue of ambiguity and misunderstanding. After a brief review of the use of the term in academia, literature, and everyday use, I examine two cases of famous generic misunderstandings: Orson Welles's radio adaptation of the science-fiction novel The War of the World in 1938, and mathematician Alan Sokal's ``fake'' scientific article published in Social Text in 1996. Both cases enable us to examine the political dimensions of genre and to reflect on the social status of texts and discourses within conflicting genre communities.