Narrative theorist Gérard Genette (1997) defined paratexts as the discourse that accompanies published texts. He argued that such discourse may influence our readings of the published texts.

Joe Janangelo offers four paratexts here. The first is Jonathan Pearson’s tribute video, "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Survivor." The second is Jonathan’s "Research Symposium Handout" which memorializes one of Jonathan’s public performances of his project that is discussed in the case study. The third and fourth paratexts bring the backstory of "Anatomy of an Article" forward because they show informal communication among Jonathan, Jane, and Joe (Paratext #3) and reveal the case study’s initial concept (Paratext #4).

The first paratext is Jonathan Pearson’s tribute video, "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Survivor," The video represents one of Jonathan’s early projects for the fall 2008 "Women and Rhetoric" course that he took with Professor Jane Greer. The video reveals Jonathan’s deep and abiding commitment for his subject, a commitment that played out with major rhetorical refinements in his "Research Symposium Presentation" (see "Paratext 2"), his evolving drafts, and his published article. The film also illustrates Jonathan’s extensive knowledge of his subject.

Research Symposium Handout

Joe's Emails with Jonathan and Jane

Letter of Inquiry and Intent to Jonathan