Continuum The Discourse of Blogs and Wikis (Continuum Discourse): 8

This is an insightful analysis of the new discourse produced by blogs and wikis. Blogs and Wikis have not been with us for long, but have made a huge impact on society. Wikipedia is the best known exemplar of the wiki, a collaborative site that leads to a single text claimed by no-one; blogs, or web-logs, have exploded into the mainstream through novelisations, film adaptations and have gathered huge followings. Blogs and wikis also serve to provide a coherent basis for a discourse analysis of specific web language. What makes these forms distinctive as genres, and what ramifications does the technology have on the language? Myers looks at how blogs and wikis: allow for easier than ever publication; can claim to challenge institutional hierarchies; provide alternate perspectives on events; exemplify globalization; challenge demarcations between the personal and the public; construct new communities; and, more. Drawing on a wide range of popular blogs and wikis, the book works alongside an author blog that contains regularly updated links, references and a glossary. An essential textbook for upper level undergraduates on linguistics and language studies courses, it elucidates, informs and offers insights into a major new type of discourse. Discourse is one of the most significant concepts of contemporary thinking in the humanities and social sciences as it concerns the ways language mediates and shapes our interactions with each other and with the social, political and cultural formations of our society. The "Continuum Discourse Series" aims to capture the fast-developing interest in discourse to provide students, new and experienced teachers and researchers in applied linguistics, ELT and English language with an essential bookshelf. Each book deals with a core topic in discourse studies to give an in-depth, structured and readable introduction to an aspect of the way language is used in real life. Review The online genres of blogs and wikis like Wikipedia can help focus on some taken-for-granted aspects of language in social interaction becoming important in political, social and economic spheres aspects often eclipsed by a fixation on the technology. Myers analyzes the dimensions of these distinctive types of text, devices used to address an intended audience and convey stances, and debates, e.g., over whether Wikipedia should have a 'Neutral Point of View' (NPOV). The book includes examples, notes on student projects, blog addresses, and a glossary. --Sanford Lakoff "Book News, Inc. "... makes a valuable contribution to the burgeoning literature that has been produced over the last few years on social web technologies... particularly useful for both students and teachers of language studies, who are interested in the study of the newly emerging communicative forms that are occurring in the interactions that blogs and wikis are enabling... The format of the book is reader-friendly and its methodological approach clearly explained...--Sanford Lakoff About the Author Greg Myers is Professor of Rhetoric and Communication at Lancaster University, UK.