Media Genres and Formats

The concept of genre is very complex and can be analyzed from different perspectives.
Firstly, it deals with the dimension of media production; it is linked to those processes of industrial concentration, serialization, large scale making, that are typical of every industry, including cultural industry.
Secondly, genre is a textual dimension consisting of a set of recognizable markers; these markers allow to contextualize a text within a macro-text, thus acknowledging its affiliation to a predetermined set of established formats.
Thirdly, genre is a horizon of expectations shaping consumption practices; consumers of specific textual genres don´t look for surprise or novelty, rather they seek the serene satisfaction of their repetitive needs: more the enjoyment of reading rather than its pleasure, quoting Roland Barthes.
However, texts that belong to specific genres are not obvious because they lead off new readings, new challenges, style experimentations which can bring out interesting experiences in cultural and artistic fields.
The course explores genres of different kinds of texts: literature, cinema, television, comics. It is divided in three sections:

1. theoretical analysis of the concept and review of literature addressing it
2. exploration of trans-media genres
3. students will analyse texts belonging to specific genres under the supervision of teacher