OSHER 81 - THLS: Genre Bending in Contemporary Fiction

Gain an appreciation for contemporary research in the humanities. In this lectures series, Jeremy Rosen Genre Bending in Contemporary Fiction. Surveying today's literary marketplace, one notices a striking phenomenon: the prevalence of esteemed "literary" writers that incorporate "low" forms of "genre fiction" into their works. In the past, novelists who aspired to literary quality defined their writing in opposition to the commercial sphere, in particular to genres such as romance, western, science fiction, horror, and mystery. Many of today's most prestigious writers, by contrast, work within genre fiction--often bending these genres in fascinating directions. This lecture examines this phenomenon, and what this means about the supposed divide between "high" literature and popular culture.