David Georgina

The Morphing of Ethos: Computer-based Composition and the Role of Persona David Georgina

Through this exploratory monograph, I examine achanging ethos within forums of Computer MediatedCommunications (CMC). Ancient and modern definitionsof ethos, as well as the interplay of persona, areapplied to students' online digital discussions. Ethos is determined by language competency (text),technology competency (rules), and by the discoursesituation; while persona, which is related directlyto the rhetorical situation, is defined as the mask(voice) through which meaning is passed. Localnetworked asynchronous chat formats, online in-classdiscussion groups, and email exchanges are examinedin an attempt to unravel the writing processesemployed for creating meaningful language. I explorethe possibilities of how student persona changeswithin their writing and how/why these changes aremanifested to increase their ethos (credibility). This work will be of interest to teachers andstudents of Rhetoric and Composition, as well as,teachers of Computer Mediated Classrooms.