ePluribus UNUM? Dialogism and Monologism in Organizational Web Discourse

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2005

ePluribus UNUM? Dialogism and Monologism in Organizational Web Discourse

John B. Killoran University of Colorado Denver

Abstract

This article draws on the principles of linguistic theorist Mikhail Bakhtin to analyze and explain discursive diversity in organizational Web pages. Organizational Web sites must typically appeal to multiple audiences, a condition that often results in different discourses being juxtaposed within the same interface. To analyze and explain the effects of such juxtapositions, this article adapts to the Web the principles that Bakhtin developed to conceptualize discursive diversity in the novel, in particular his concept of dialogism. To illustrate their efficacy, the article applies these principles to analyze a pair of government Web sites about forests, the forest industry, and the environment. Whereas the homepages of the two sites project divergent approaches to the discourses of their diverse audiences, a dialogic analysis of the new site's deeper levels reveals how the government's discursive strategy appears to favor one audience at the expense of others. Drawing on this case study, this article discusses how an approach informed by Bakhtin's principles can illuminate our analysis of organizational Web discourse.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2005-04-01
DOI: 10.2190/ja8h-jfd6-58ld-rgtd
Open Access: Closed
Topics: qualitative research

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Andrews (2020)

Why major in writing? Hyperpragmatism and writing program websites

Computers and Composition
Killoran (2009)

The Rhetorical Situations of Web Résumés

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (2)

Killoran (2002)

Under constriction: Colonization and synthetic institutionalization of Web space

Computers and Composition
STRATMAN (2000)

Readers' Perception of Bias in Public Education Documents

Written Communication

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