Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on broad histories and contexts of contemporary digital writing and rhetoric, looking in particular at questions of how, historically, the emergence of new communications technologies challenge understanding of writing and rhetorical. It offers technopedagogies for the different contexts of digital writing. The book focuses on sonic composition as an activist practice that develops empathy. It analyzes the expansion of sense of the specifically rhetorical possibilities enabled by digital writing. The book also focuses on how public spheres are changing in relation to the circulation of digital forms of composing. It explores the implications of trust and "post-truth" for scientific and technical discourse. The book examines the implications of swift technological/cultural changes for the future of digital writing and rhetoric. It also explores the politics of the disciplining function of soundwriting interfaces.