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This timely monograph explores the critical, yet often overlooked, role of genre in non-traditional authorship attribution studies. Drawing from linguistics, rhetoric, stylistics, forensic linguistics, and computational methods-including Large Language Models (LLMs)-the book argues that genre must be treated as a central variable in any credible attribution analysis.
Across domains from Shakespearean drama to courtroom linguistics, the book highlights how failing to control for genre risks undermining both results and credibility. It challenges the extremes of current thinking-whether genre dominates authorship or is eclipsed by it-by examining the vast and complex gray area between these poles.
With case studies, critical commentary, and a detailed appendix cataloging over 120 stylistic markers across genres and authors, this work provides a robust resource for scholars, digital humanists, forensic linguists, and anyone invested in the integrity of authorship studies. It also offers an accessible introduction to the promises and pitfalls of LLMs in this evolving field. This volume is essential reading for both practitioners and consumers of attribution research.
List of contents
1. Introduction
2. The Definition and Categorization of Genre
2.1 Genre and Register
2.2 Information Retrieval - Cross Domain - Cross Topic
3. Each Genre has a Defining Style that is Discernable
3.1 Genre Differences in the Same Author
3.2 Genre Cannot be Categorized
4. The Case that Genre is Irrelevant in Non-Traditional Authorship Attribution Studies
5. The Case that Authorship Trumps Genre in Non-Traditional Authorship Attribution Studies - WHITE
6. The Case that Genre Trumps Authorship in Non-Traditional Authorship Attribution Studies - BLACK
7. The Case for Shades of GRAY
8. Can Genre Ever be Mixed in the Experimental Design
8.1 Narration versus Dialogue
9. Can Techniques be Developed so that Genre can be Ignored in the Experimental Design
10. The Necessity of Controlling for Genre in the Experimental Design
11. Intra-Genres in Non-Traditional Authorship Attribution
12. The Legal Profession, Forensic Linguistics, and Genre
12.1 Cross-Genre Attribution in Forensic Linguistics
13. Shakespeare's Drama as a Case in Point
14. Large Language Models
15. Conclusion
About the author
Joseph Rudman currently serves as a Scientific Project Administrator in the Physics Department and as an Adjunct Professor in the English Department at Carnegie Mellon University.
