In the article, “Defining and Locating Digital Rhetoric”, Doug Eyman traces the term back to the lecture given by Richard Lanham in 1989, where the term was first described. Lanham held that computers are not merely logical machines, but also rhetorical machines. And that digital production could be related to classical rhetorical theory. He proposed that the interpretation of digital texts involves the ethical, legal, and social implications of digital texts. Especially when they engage with the postmodern theory and artistic practice.
In hypertext theory, George Landow and Stuart Moulthrop were the first to recognize the affordances of digital texts. Unlike print, hypertexts emphasize the relationship between documents. Enabling one to generate new ways of arguing and to build metatexts. This focus on interconnectivity formed the basis of what then theorists would term as digital rhetoric. Which is a subdivision of rhetorical theory extending its scope to network, multimedia spaces.
Expanding Digital Rhetoric: Doug Brent and Gary Heba
These were further developed by Doug Brent and Gary Heba who studied argumentation, multi sensory communication and infrastructure in digital media. Their work was characterized by the stress on the idea that digital rhetoric is not analyzed but also shapes the creation of persuasive works. This can be in the form of text, video, images, and interactive elements. The usefulness of the classical rhetoric in the study of screen-based media and online political discourses was later emphasized by Kathleen Welch and Barbara Warnick. Who addressed the notions of ethos, interactivity and intertextuality.
My Thoughts
I believe that digital rhetoric has never been as relevant as it is at the moment. The concept of computers as rhetorical devices by Lanham opposes the theory of technology neutrality. Such scholars as Landow, Brent, and Warnick demonstrate the proliferation of digital media in terms of argumentation and argumentative forms. In my opinion, a hybrid of the traditional rules of rhetoric and the current digitalism can assist us. in making content that is both ethical, interactive and effective, one that will bridge the gap between theory and practice in the digital world.
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