Invitation to join the
Genre Evolution Project in Ann Arbor
GEPA2 logo The Genre Evolution Project in Ann Arbor is a pioneering research project in which each team member has the opportunity to help shape the work and contribute to fundamental advances in the study of culture. The team spirit is high and the work exciting. Everyone participates in the intense weekly research meetings. Each researcher meets with a research partner during the week to discuss the materials they have been studying. And most individuals take on special tasks tailored to the needs of the group and the interests of the researcher. The commitment is about ten hours per week.

Currently the primary GEP work revolves around American science fiction, news periodicals, and magazine art. The secondary work revolves around the development of culture studies research methods. The Ann Arbor team comprises two faculty members and twelve to twenty additional researchers each semester, some as volunteers, others as UROP students, others as independent study students. We also correspond and sometimes collaborate with sibling GEP units both in the U.S. and abroad.
  • To orient yourself to the GEP, go to the Genre Evolution Project website and see the Project Overview page, which loads by default.
  • To feel the social structure at the weekly meetings, go to the Selected Research Results page and click on the Research Profile link.
  • To review a PowerPoint presentation concerning some of the GEP work, go to the Selected Research Results page and click on "How To Succeed in Science Fiction."
  • To read publications drawing on GEP research, go to the Selected Research Results page and follow the references listed under Selected Genre Evolution Project papers. The essay in Literature and Medicine is available online through the University of Michigan library to those having U-M computer accounts. (Go to MIRLYN, search for the journal by title, and then find the appropriate issue.)
  • To explore some of the unique work done by the GEP, go to our online Database.
  • To observe the GEP, attend one of our weekly research meetings (Mondays 5:10-6:30 p.m. in 3184 Angell Hall).
  • To discuss the GEP, contact one of the team members listed on GEP Team page of the GEP website, especially the Project co-managers listed under Special Assignments.
  • To join the GEP, follow some or all of the steps above and then meet with GEP co-founder Eric Rabkin.
Copyright © 2004 Eric S. Rabkin