Rhetorical Analysis:

Pre/Text Electra (Lite)

By Vincent Vigil

           I chose to a rhetorical analysis of the professional online journal Pretext Electra (Lite) http://pre-text.com.  The Pretext journal has been in existence since 1980 and has been currently updated to a new electronic version Pre/Text: Electra (Lite), the Elect Way (http://www.utdallas.edu/pretext/index1a.html). The professional journal (print version) is a quarterly publication.  The editor/ publisher of Pre/Text is Victor J. Vitanza who founded Pre/Text: A Journal of Rhetorical Theory. I remember Victor J Vitanza from English 504 Class with the article "Three Countertheses: A Critical In (ter) vention into Composition Theories and Pedagogies." I was also surprised to find out that Cynthia Haynes is co editor along with V. Vitanza of Pre/text Electra (Lite). The editorial boards of both Pretext and Pre/Text: Electra (Lite) was impressive because they are all prominent figures in the field of Composition and Rhetoric like James A. Berlin, Sharon Crowley, Lynn Worsham, John Trimbur, Beth Kolko, and Lester Faigley.  The individuals on the list/publishing on the journals are academics in the field of Composition and Rhetoric. Pre/Text: Electra (Lite), the Elect Way is “an "ad hoc" electronic journal, a temporary surrogate for a more e-laborate, more e-playful, forthcoming electronic publication. This electronic version, like the forthcoming one, is an X-tension of the print ("pulp") version of PRE/TEXT: A Journal of Rhetorical Theory”. 

        There are several articles in the e-journal (electronic journal).  I feel the articles are directed towards academics, educators, students, and individuals who are affected by and study the field of Composition and Rhetoric.  I viewed the Pre/Text Electra (Lite) Issues 1.1, 1997, Issue: 1.1A, 1997 (A Critical P o l y logue), Issue: 1.1B, 1997 C&W, Hawaii ( MOOvies ), Issue: 2.1, 1999 (WOOing towards Prosthetica), Issue: 3.1, 2000 (the Soundzs of WOOsic Writing, Issue: 4.1, 2001 (Wreyeting vIDeo: EiE Repetition).  I thoroughly viewed The Pre/Text Electra (Lite) Issues 1.1, 1997 that has several interesting articles and publications.  The articles viewed illustrated a sense of community that invoked a specialized and erudite knowledge about Composition and Rhetoric. In the “E-Partments: Conferences section -Beyond the Podium: Directions for Academic Conferencing”, Olivia Frey and Diana Postlethwaite (St. Olaf College) wrote the article “Another Shot as (Re) Forming the Format”.   The article discussed a unique scenario in the classroom: “We've just described Paulo Freire's "banking" model of education, which most of us no longer adhere to in our classrooms, at least as a steady diet (Pedagogy of the Oppressed N.Y.: Seabury Press, 1973). And yet we maintain it religiously in the format of our academic conferences.”  The article also showed a concern for technology:

    “Neil Postman's observations in Technopoly. The Surrender of Culture to Technology (N.Y.: Knopf, 1992) are relevant to our situation: the format and guidelines of our conferences are a "technology." And, far more than simply acting as a vehicle for our thought, this technology drives and shapes it. In Postman's words, "technologies create the ways in which people perceive reality."

Frey and Postlethwaite encourage a change and alternative to the current in conference sessions of M/MLA and how they are conducted. There are several professional affiliations in the professional online journal.  The journal also discusses issues concerning the Modern Language Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as other professional organizations and academic departments in national colleges and universities. 

              The individuals who wrote articles in Pre/Text: Electra (Lite) are targeting a specific group of academics, teachers, professional organizations (like MLA/NCTE), and students (college: bachelors degree/graduate /PHD) in the field of Composition and Rhetoric.  Other articles that I viewed in the e-journal were “Never Mind the Tagmemics, Where’s the Sex Pistols” by Goeffrey Sirc, “Pixel Up!, Get Mad at Plato!!”  by Jane E. Hindman, “Ben E Franklin@ E-Kite” by Hans Kellner, “Laughter; or, Chortling into the Storm” by D. Diane Davis, “Electricity” by Cynthia Hanynes, and “Electra (Trois); or, E-thicsTrois ... E-th.eye.cal Logos!**A-Fetish** On its way to becoming-virus by Victor J. Vitanza.  The authors of these articles are writing about concerns and issues that concern Composition and Rhetoric in academia, the classroom, and individuals that Composition and Rhetoric as a field of study pertains to. Another section I viewed and enjoyed in the online journal was “I Wanna Be Electricity: A Conversation About Music and the Juice”.  There were interesting discussions on electricity, music and sexuality.  Academics like Ross Grady, Bob Boster, David Menconi, Holly Butman, etc. were all participants on the online conversations that ranged from AC/DC (Back in Black) to Punk Rock to Gibson’s Neuromanzer/Polvo to the effects of Electricity.  It was obvious that the people writing in the discussion list knew each other and had a strong sense of community. Everyone who posted responses was very involved in the various topics.

The layout of the professional online journal shows web wizardry with hyper textual essays, web graphics, hyperlinks which link to all different kinds of websites and articles.  I wonder if the chicken leg or what I think to be a chicken leg for the background has any connotations tied to it.  I feel the chicken leg signifies the field of Composition and Rhetoric as an importance piece of the whole academic chicken (discipline).  The legs are an essential part of existence (An importance piece of the entire world of academia).  The online version is user friendly because it allows the visitor of the site easy mobility to travel from page to page, article-to-article, etc.  The index.html.htm page that links to Electra (Lite) is very straightforward and eye catching because of the colors and images.  The e-journal Pre/Text: Electra (Lite) is for everyone who is interested in Composition and Rhetoric, even people interested basic writing because there are articles in the online version that deal with development of different approaches to the study and teaching of writing (processes).  The function of the e-journal captures how technology is used to exemplify how print can be transformed into an electronic version with the newest form of writing technology, the computer. The online journal Pre/Text: Electra (Lite) is a great website that provides and enables individuals to explore various topics, articles, concerns, and publications about the field of Composition and Rhetoric.

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