Genre and gender share not only a common etymology, but also a joint history of misreading, which ranges from their being completely ignored on the one hand to being cast into unbreakable stereotypes on the other. This study aims to open these concepts to inquiry, and locates their changing relationships at the centre of critical interpretation. Mary Gerhart demonstrates that a theory of genre must move beyond mere categorizing. She summarises the significant stages in the history of thinking about genre from Plato to Derrida, and proposes a new role for genre that makes it pivotal in current discussions of critical theory. Developing a model of genre that is epistemological, historical, theoretical and praxis-oriented, she tests it in relation to such fields as religious studies, speech-act theory, cultural studies and biblical hermeneutics, and applies it to the interpretation of narrative fiction and film. The book deals with complex concepts. Its focus is narrow, but opens out consistently toward ancillary issues such as feminist readings and deconstructionism, which strengthen the author's argument. Gerhart suggests the profound implications of genre and gender, as she redefines them, for both literary criticism and religious studies.