Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

694

Date

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

English

Concentration

Composition Studies

Committee Chair

Joseph Jones

Committee Member

Dmitri Stanchevici

Committee Member

Susan Popham

Abstract

The online social network Facebook is a site of ocnsiderable rhetorical activity. Because it exists at the frontier of Web 2.0 or "new media" technology, this rhetorical activity has certain novel features that require an expansion of the concept of rhetorical situation. I apply Lloyd Bitzer's original theory of rhetorical situation to the context of Facebook in order to highlight the ways in which technological advances and shifts in theory necessitate a broader understanding of rhetorical situations. I argue that two of Bitzer's three essential elements, constraints and audience, are applicable to Facebook but must be adapted to suit its environment, while the third, exigence, should be replaced with ethos--the construction of a virtual identity.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

Download

Share

COinS