A RhetProject:
Interactive Historiography

Project Instigator:
Mick Doherty
mick@rpi.edu
 DOI: 10.37514/RNT-J.1997.4.1.24

The way we talk and write about the things we're doing affects the way we think about those things; what we call the projects we're engaging help to define them, both for our audience(s) and for ourselves.

See also: What's In A Name? What We Call What We Do And Why It Matters
A RhetNet Snapshot by Mick Doherty and Elizabeth Pass

A historiographical analysis of our own discourse about ourselves might seem a bit premature; but in virtual rhetorics, all the rules are changing. So a new kind of historiography -- one concurrent with the actual development of the scholarhsip, one conducted interactively among the scholars, students, teachers, and many audiences of virtual rhetorics isn't premature ... it's simply different. And as Michael Heim wrote four years and a dozen generations ago, if writing in wired space is anything, it is "well ... different."

As the beginning of what we hope will become an ongoing RhetNet project, let's start to collect some of the neologisms we've noticed springing up recently in our classrooms, on our listservs, and wherever else we talk and write about what we're doing.

What words have you read? Written? Heard? What do you think of them? Are they useful? Do you occasionally find yourself just praying certain words will disappear from our lexicon?

Let's generate a list of these words & phrases and our reactions to them. Use the form below or post suggestions to Rhetnt-L@mizzou1.missouri.edu Perhaps your students would have additional contributions and reactions; several of mine have already threatened me bodily harm if I don't stop using the term "syllaweb." This, of course, from a group of students that have labeled themselves "The Not-Ready-For-HTML Players."

Some preliminary comments will be incorporated into my 1996 C+W presentation, entitled Netoric, Technorhetoric and Syllawebs-R-Us: Neologisms and the Fine Art of Kludging in Utah -- and the final text of that presentation will also be made available for commentary and critique through RhetNet.

Contribute a neologism or other verbal kludge:

Where did you come across it?

Commentary/analysis (reckon this is an efficacious kludge? verbal ca-ca? some of both or neither?)

Name:

Email:

Counter
hits since 23 April 1996
RhetNet home

Here are a few of the terms that leap immediately to mind; comment on these, add some you've heard ... or get creative and make some up. Kludge away!

KludgersKlub (so far):
[Feel free to add your own commentary/analysis on items already submitted!]