ALEJANDRO ARCAY

ENC1102
DISCUSSION POST
DEVITT
Devitt's excerpt "Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old Concept" discusses
how revising our understanding of genre can prevent the "dichotomies that threaten to undermine
our holistic understanding of writing" (Devitt, 573). After reading this passage, I had a very
vague understanding of what Devitt's goal was. Devitt really attempts to wipe genre off the face
of English literature because she felts that it holds much constraint. By acknowledging genre as
more than a formal constraint on writers but rather an essential component of making meaning,
we might find it influencing other notions that we teach. By ignoring the significance of genre, it
will allow a more "unified theory of genre" (Devitt, 584). "With a unified theory of genre, we
can reintegrate text and context, form and content, process and product, reading and writing,
individual and social" (Devitt, 584).
Wow, that was a torturous reading. Although I do not feel 100% certain on all of Devitt's key
points, I feel like I scratched more than just the surface. Personally, Devitt's method in ignoring
genre to reintegrate text wasn't very convincing. No matter how we change our way of thinking,
every piece of text that comes out way will always be intertextual which automatically makes us
categorize text. Ignoring genre isn't something that's worth experimenting with because the
essence of writing will always be captures regardless of perspective.

Devitt, Amy J. Generalizing About Genre: New Conceptions of an Old Concept.College

Composition and Communication. 4th ed. Vol. 44. N.p.: National Council of Teachers of English,
1993. 573-586. Print.

-----------Reply-----------Excellent interpretation Daniel! In my perspective, I think this author is a little far fetched. Devitt
is trying to reformat the way we interpret and identify genre because she feels that it may capture
the essence of writing? Looking at his passage as a whole, her argument seemed very weak and
unnecessary. The conception of genre is a key vitamin in English literature and shouldn't be
tweaked. After reading every word, I am still yet to find a convincing sentence to support
Devitt's "unified theory of genre" (Devitt, 586). Very strange reading I must say.