Hello and Welcome! Over the last two years I have found myself interested in the study of digital rhetoric and composition studies. I have a penchant for multimodal composition studies and find that learning about digital theory, production, and interaction as it relates to composition practices allows me to explore rhetoric in unique and diverse ways. I have had the opportunity to study digital rhetoric in several courses that I have taken at Georgia State University as a PhD student, while I also attended Ohio State University’s Digital Media and Composition conference in the Spring of 2024. Thus, from all of these digital composition focused classes, I have decided to create this blog for the purpose of archiving and easily accessing all the digital rhetoric courses I have taken so that I can readily access and share my work from class or personal pursuit in one place.
For me, digital rhetoric and composition studies serve as a new (but not really that new) layer of rhetorical studies. It presents a virtual way to explore notions of places and spaces – particularly when considering digital forums and social media platforms. It also highlights the interactions between humans and technology as a ‘new’ dynamic regarding communication and persuasion. Yet, from what I’ve learned in my short time as a digital rhet/comp scholar, is that the traditional standards of rhetoric (logos, ethos, pathos AND invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery) still apply, even in digital spaces. Rhetoric in the virtual world remains as present as ever, and understanding how audiences interpret information shared digitally requires a working knowledge of how language affects people, especially when considering the inability for digital creators to completely control audience access to information shared through cyberspace. Digital rhetoric and composition studies calls attention to the fact that communication through a digital medium, be that language (verbal or written), image, or music, still employs the same rhetorical ideas discussed for almost two millennia.
To add to the conversation, this site has become my landing ground where I will keep all of my material. Some of the work here will be links to other sites I’ve created, while others will be documents to digital derived composition thoughts or pedagogical practices. I even intend to add links to some of the course work I’ve developed to help my Freshman writing students develop a better sense of what technology can offer them to help them better grasp the work of composing rhetorically online. Enjoy!
