Abstract:
The emergence of Internet writing, particularly blog writing, has complicated our
understanding of the ―rhetorical situation,‖ as first articulated by Lloyd Bitzer. As a basic
definition, the rhetorical situation consists of the author/rhetor, audience, constraints,
exigence and text. As the genre of the blog emerged shortly after the millennium, the
basic premise of Bitzer‘s definition needs to be revised to incorporate how rhetorical
situations operate in the blogosphere and specifically how the concept of audience,
exigence, and invention need to be reconceptualized in this genre. Whereas Bitzer saw
the rhetorical situation as consisting of separate and discrete elements, in the blogosphere
these concepts appear to shift and transform through social and historical fluxes, making
for a more ―fluid‖ rhetorical situation that inevitably raises doubts about the stability of
the genre itself. Since many trace the origins of the genre of blogging to the tragic events
of September 11, 2001, an analysis of blogs relating to Muslims will serve as a useful
tool when discussing the rhetorical situation and concepts such as exigence, audience,
and invention. As these terms are viewed in the social and historical contexts and
discourses in which they were produced, the evolution of these terms and the lens
through which their meanings are derived will shed more light onto the genre of blogging
and its ability to remain stable in such a fluid environment.
