Distant reading and related data-driven methodologies illuminate previously unrecognized trends in how the discipline of English has incorporated, resisted, and naturalized new media technologies.

We explore the design of the Writing Studies Tree prototype as an intervention in both writing studies and the study of academic genealogy. We articulate the many exigencies for the project and explain the design choices we have made in response. Finally, we argue for data-driven academic genealogy as a valuable framework for understanding how influence circulates within writing studies.