Passing Theory in Action: The discourse between hypertext and paralogic hermeneutics

by Lee Libby
Iowa State University

 


Abstract

When an author attempts to effectively present an argument through the vehicle of hypertext markup language, complications arise.

A reader of a Web text can, and is actually encouraged to, move freely within and outside of a particular text. This movement can be perceived as problematic if an author feels compelled to move the reader down a particular knowledge path.

Paralogic hermeneutics gives needed insight into this problem in that this theoretical approach sees the act of communication between two parties as a strategic guessing game. Although an author can make an informed guess as to the appropriate path for a reader, there is no guarantee that any prediction is correct.

This article attempts to identify some of the connections between theories by looking at the interchange between George Landow's concept of hypertext creation and Thomas Kent's ideas on the communication guessing game.

 

 

This web was peer-reviewed by Nick Carbone, Douglas Eyman, Claudine Keenan and Mick Doherty.


Contact The Author

About Lee Libby
I am graduate student at Iowa State University studying Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication. I also teach freshman composition in computer-intensive classrooms. Currently I am collaborating with the ISU Economics Department on a project to convert farm-related financial information to an interactive Web format. My interests include rhetorical theory of electronic communications, technical communications in scientific settings, and theoretical physics of chaos.


Index of External Links


 

 

 

 


KAIROS


Kairos: A Journalfor Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments.
Vol. 2 No. 2 Fall 1997