Landow - The Rhetoric of Hypermedia

8/3/2019 Landow - The Rhetoric of Hypermedia

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Journal of Computing in Higher EducationSpring 1989, Vol. I (1) 39-64.

The Rhetoric of Hypermedia:Some Rules for AuthorsGeorge P. Landow

Professor of English and ArtBrown University

A B S T R A C T

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY that employs electronically linkedblocks of words and images requires rhetorical and stylistic rulesdifferent from those for one employing physically isolated pages set

in a fixed sequence. After discussing the reader's need for arrival,departure, and navigation information in hypermedia, the essay ex-

amines various system solutions to these needs and then proposes rulesof hypermedia rhetoric concerning the creation of overview or directoryfiles, placement and labeling of link markers, and relation of visual toverbal information.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

H YPERTEXT CHANGES the way texts exist and the way weread them. Hypermedia, the amplification of hypertext that alsoincorporates sound and visual material, links nonverbal as well

as verbal information, and thereby creates more possibilities and moreproblems. Like hypertext, hypermedia changes the roles of author andreader, teacher and student (Yankelovich, Meyrowitz, and van Dam1985, Landow 1989b). The defining characteristics of this new informa-

tion medium derive from its combination of blocks of text joined byelectronic links, for this combination emphasizes multiple connectionsrather than linear reading or linear organization.

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THE RHETORI C OF HYPERMED1A

C a n t h e h y p e r m e d i a a u t h o r r e a l i z e t h e e n o r m o u s p o t e n t i a l o f t h em e d i u m t o c h a n g e o u r r e l at io n t o l a n g u a g e a n d t ex t s im p l y b y l i n k in go n e p a s s a g e o r i m a g e t o o t h e r s ? N o , l i n k i n g , b y i t s e l f , i s n o t e n o u g h .T h e e x p e ri e n ce o f a u t h o r s a n d r e a d e rs w i t h I n t e r m e d i a ( L a n d o w 1 98 7a ,L a n d o w 1 98 8a ), t h e h y p e r m e d i a s y st em d e v e l o p e d a t B r o w n U n i -v e r s i t y ' s I n s t i t u t e f o r R e s e a r c h i n I n f o r m a t i o n a n d S c h o l a r s h i p ( I R I S ) ,d e a r l y d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t o n e m u s t d o m o r e t h a n j u s t c o n n e c t d o c u -m e n t s e l e c t r o n i c a ll y t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e s t r e n g th s o f th i s n e wm e d i u m . To b e g i n w i t h , s i m p l y l i n k i n g o n e t e x t t o a n o t h e r f a i l s t oa c h i e v e t h e e x p e c t e d b e n e f i t s o f h y p e r m e d i a a n d c a n e v e n a l i e n a t e t h e

u s e r. T h e a u t h o r o f a s t o r y, a r t i c l e , o r b o o k d o e s n o t e x p e c t t o m a k em u c h s e n s e b y s t r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r s e n t e n c e s a n d p a r a g r a p h s w i t h o u tv a r i o u s s t y li st ic d e v ic e s a n d r h e t o r i c a l c o n v e n t i o n s . To c o m m u n i c a t e e f -f e c ti v el y, h y p e r m e d i a a u t h o r s a l so h a v e t o e m p l o y a r a n g e o f d e v ic e ss u it e d t o t h e ir m e d i u m ; w o r k i n g w i t h in th is n e w m e d i u m , a u t h o r s m u s tm a k e u s e o f n e w t e c h n i q u e s t h a t w i ll e n a b l e t h e r e a d e r t o p r o c e s s t h e i n-f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t e d b y t h i s n e w k i n d o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y.

I n t e r m e d i a , w h i c h h a s f e a t u r e s n o t a v a i l a b l e i n o t h e r h y p e r m e d i a

s y s te m s , h a s b e e n d e s c r ib e d e ls e w h e r e ( Ya n k e l o v i c h , H a a n , M e y r o w i t z ,& Dru ck e r, 1988). In t he fo l low ing page I r e f e r f r eque n t ly t o expe r i enceg a i n e d w o r k i n g w i t h I n t e r m e d i a f o r t w o r e a s o n s . F i r s t , a n y r e a l l yw o r k a b l e h y p e r m e d i a s y s te m , o n e t h a t c a n r e a li z e t h e p o t e n t i a l o f th i sn e w f o r m o f i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o lo g y, m u s t h a v eat least t h e f e a t u r e s o fI n t e r m e d i a . S e c o n d , d e s p i t e p o s s es s in g f e a t u r e s th a t o r i e n t re a d e r s , I n -t e rm ed ia st il l r equ i r e s au th o r s t o em plo y a rhe to r i c o f l i nk ing . S ince th isa d v a n c e d h y p e r t e x t s y s t e m s t i l l r e q u i r e s a d d i t i o n a l a u t h o r - c r e a t e d

s ty l i s t i c dev ices , i t p rov ides a good po in t o f depa r tu re fo r d i scuss inggene ra l i s sues o f hype rmed ia rhe to r i c and s ty l i s t i c s .A l t h o u g h h y p e r m e d i a r e d e f in e s s o m e o f t h e b a s ic c h a r a c te r i st ic s o f

p a g e - b o u n d t e x t, s u c h a s t h e r i g id l y h i e r a r c h i c a l d i s t in c t i o n b e t w e e n am a i n t e x t a n d its a n n o t a t i o n i n s c h o l a rl y w o r k s , i t s till d e p e n d s u p o nm a n y o f t h e s a m e o rg a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e s t h a t m a k e p a g e - b o u n d d i s -c o u r s e c o h e r e n t , e v e n p l e a s u r a b l e , to r e a d . I n o t h e r w o r d s , h y p e r m e d i arequ i r e s s ty li st ic an d rhe to r i ca l dev ices j u s t a s does book - t ex t , t ho ug h ,a s o n e m i g h t e x p e c t, a n e w t e c h n o l o g y o f i n f o r m a t i o n c r e a te s d e m a n d sfo r nove l dev ices .

O n e b e g i n s a n y d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e n e w r h e t o r i c n e e d e d f o r h y p e r -

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George P. Landow

m e d i a w i t h t h e r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t a u t h o r s o f h y p e r t e x t a n d h y p e r m e d i am a t e r i a l s c o n f r o n t t h r e e r e l a t e d p r o b l e m s : F i r s t , w h a t m u s t t h e y d o t oo r i e n t r e a d e rs a n d h e l p t h e m r e a d e f f i c ie n t l y a n d w i t h p l e a s u r e ? S e -c o n d , h o w c a n t h e y i n f o r m t h o s e r e a d in g a d o c u m e n t w h e r e t h e li nk s int h a t d o c u m e n t l e a d ? T h i r d , h o w c a n t h e y as sis t re a d e r s w h o h a v e ju s te n t e r e d a n e w d o c u m e n t t o f ee l a t h o m e t h e re ? D r a w i n g u p o n t h ea n a l o g y o f tr a v e l , w e c a n s a y t h a t t h e f i rs t p r o b l e m c o n c e r n snavigationi n f o r m a t i o n n e c e s s a ry fo r m a k i n g o n e ' s w a y t h r o u g h t h e m a t er ia l s. T h es e c o n d c o n c e r n sexit o r departure i n f o r m a t i o n a n d t h e t h i r darrival o rentrance i n f o r m a t i o n . I n e a c h c a s e, c r ea t o rs o f h y p e r m e d i a m a t e ri a ls

m u s t d e c id e w h a t r e a d er s n e e d t o k n o w a t e it h e r e n d o f a h y p e r m e d i al in k i n o r d e r t o m a k e u s e o f w h a t t h e y f i n d th e r e . T h e g e n e r a l i ss u e h e r eis o n e o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . To e n a b l e r e a d e r s t o f u n c t i o n e f f i ci e n tl y h o wm u c h i n t e rp r e t a t io n m u s t t h e d e s i g n e r - a u t h o r a t ta c h t o t h e s y s te m a s aw h o l e , t o l in k p a t h w a y s , a n d t o d o c u m e n t s a t th e e n d o f li nk s ?

T h e f o ll o w i n g d is c u ss io n o f t h e r h e t o r ic o f h y p e r m e d i a p r o c e e d s b yf ir st l o o k i n g a t p r o b l e m s i n t r in s i c t o t h is i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y, a f t e rw h i c h i t e x a m i n e s s o m e s y s t e m - g e n e r a t e d s o l u t i o n s t o t h e m . F i n a l l y,

a f t e r p o i n t i n g t o p r o b l e m s n o t s o l v e d b y t h e s e m e a n s , i t s u g g e s t sr h e to r i ca l d e vi ce s h y p e r m e d i a a u t h o r s c a n u s e i n c o m p o s i n g d o c u m e n t sa n d i n l in k i n g t h e m t o o n e o t h e r.

G E N E R A L O B S E R VA T I O N S

I M A G E S B A R E o f t ex t o r i m a g e s w i t h o n l y ti tl es c o n f u s e re a d e r s,w h o c a n n o t q u i c k l y a n d e a si ly d e t e r m i n e w h y l in k s t o s u c h m a t e ri a lh a v e b e e n i n c l u d e d . O n c e c o n f u s e d , r e a d e r s r e s e n t t h e p r e s e n c e o f

t h e l i n k . B e f o r e o b s e r v i n g s e v e r a l s o l u t i o n s t o t h i s f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b -l e m , l et us n o t e t h e b a s ic a s s u m p t i o n s u n d e r l y i n g th e s e a n n o y e d r e a c -t io n s , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f w h i c h is th e a s s u m p t i o n b y r e a d e r s th a tl i nks r ep re sen t u se fu l , i n t e r e s t i ng , educa t iona l ly s ign i f i can t r e l a t i on -s h ip s . S u c h a s s u m p t i o n s , w e m u s t r e al iz e , d o n o t d e r iv e f r o m o v e r -

e s t i m a t i o n s o f h y p e r m e d i a b u t a r e i n tr in s i c t o s u c h s y s te m s . I n f a c t, b e -c a u s e li n k s p la y s u c h a p r i m a r y r o l e in h y p e r t e x t a n d h y p e r m e d i a , t h e yi n fl u e n c e t h e c o n t e n t t h e y c o n v e y a n d t h u s e x e m p l if y t h e M c C l u h a n e s -

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THE RHETORIC OF HYPERMEDIA

q u e p r i n c i p l e t h a t t h e m e d i u m i s t h e m e s s a g e ( M c C l u h a n 1 96 2) - - o r a tle a st t h a t e v e r y m e d i u m o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n it se lf c o m m u n i c a t e s a n i d e n -t i f i ab l e b i a s o r message .

H y p e r m e d i a a s a m e d i u m c o n v e y s t h e s t r o n g i m p r e s s i o n t h a t i t sl in k s s ig n i fy c o h e r e n t , p u r p o s e f u l , a n d a b o v e a l lusefulr e l a t i onsh ips .F r o m t h i s f o l l o w s :

Rule 1 . The very exis tence of l inks in hypermediacondi t ions the reader to expect purposeful , impor-tant re la t ionships between l inked m ater ia ls .Ru le 2 . The em pha sis up on l inking mater ia ls in

hypermedia s t imulates and encourages habi ts ofrelational thinking in the reader. Such in t r in s i ch y p e r m e d i a em p h a s i s u p o n i n t er c o n n e c t e d n e s s ( o rc o n n e c t i v i t y ) p r o v i d e s a p o w e r f u l m e a n s o ft each ing soph i s t i ca t ed c r i t i ca l t h ink ing , pa r t i cu l a r-l y t h a t w h i c h b u i ld s u p o n m u l t i- c a u s a l a n al y se s a n dr e l a ti n g d i f fe r e n t k i n d s o f d a t a . B u t o n e m u s t n o t ea t h i r d , c a u t i o n a r y p r in c i p l e :

Ru le 3 . Since hyperm edia systems predispose usersto expect such s ignif icant re la t ionships amongdocu m ents , those docu m ents tha t d i sappoin t theseexpectations appear particularly incoherent andnons igni f ican t . W h e n u s e r s f o l l o w l i n k s a n d e n -c o u n t e r m a t e r i a l s t h a t d o n o t a p p e a r t o p o s s e s s as i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n t o t h e d o c u m e n t f r o m w h i c ht h e l i n k p a t h w a y o r i g i n a t e d , t h e y fe e l c o n f u s e d a n d

resen t fu l .B r i e f t e x t s i n t h e f o r m o f t i t l e d o n o t a l w a y s p r o v i d e e n o u g h i n f o r m a -t i o n a b o u t i m a g e s t o t h e r e a d e r, b e c a u s e t i t l e s d o n o t s u f f i c i e n t l ye s t a b l i s h a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t w o l i n k e d d o c u m e n t s . I n a d e q u a t e l yp r e s e n t e d v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i z e s m a n y i l l u s t r a t e d t e x t b o o k s ,p a r t i c u l a r l y l i t e r a r y a n t h o l o g i e s , t h a t i n c l u d e p o r t r a i t s o f a u t h o r s ,w o r k s o f a r t , a n d o t h e r s u p p o s e d l y r e l e v a n t v i s u a l m a t e r i a l s . S t u d e n t sg e n e r a l l y i g n o r e s u c h m a t e r i a ls . B o o k s p e r m i t t h e s t u d e n t r e a d e r t oa v o i d a p p a r e n t l y n o n s i g n i f i c a n t o r i n s ig n i f ic a n t m a t e r i a ls - - o n e s i m p l yg l a n c e s a t t h e m a n d t u r n s t h e p a g e o r, i n m a n y c a s e s , s i m p l y n e v e rg l a n c e s a t t h e m a t a l l - - b u t h y p e r m e d i a s y s t e m s , w h o s e l i n k a g e s s u g -

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George P. Landow

g e s t t h a t t h e u s e r w i l l e n c o u n t e r s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e nm a t e r i a l s , m a k e i g n o r i n g s u c h m a t e r i a l s m o r e d i f f i c u l t . T h e y f o r c e t oc o n f r o n t r e l a t i o n a l i t y - - o r i t s a b s e n c e .

O V E R V I E W S A N D O T H E R M E A N S O F

O R I E N T I N G T H E R E A D E R

H Y P E R M E D I A L I N K I N G is a d o u b l e- e d g e d s w o r d t h a t o f fe rsr e a d e r s i n f o r m a t i o n in n e w, m o r e e f f i ci e n t w a y s b u t a l s o h a s th ec a p a c it y to c o n f u s e t h e m a n d le av e th e m in t h a t c o n d i t io n J e f f

C o n k l i n h a s d e s c r i b e d as " l o s t i n h y p e r s p a c e " ( C o n k l i n 1 9 87 ). S e v e ra lf e a t u re s o f t h e I n t e r m e d i a s y s t e m s o lv e t h e b a s ic p r o b l e m o f o r i e n t i n gr e ad e r s. I n h y p e r m e d i a d o c u m e n t s i m p l e m e n t e d o n s y st em s lik e H y p e r -c a r d t h a t p e r m i t r e a d e r s t o s e e o n l y a s in g le d o c u m e n t at a t im e , o n eb e c o m e s e as ily d i s o r i e n t e d , a n d d e s ig n e r s h a v e m a d e u s e o f h o m e c a r d st h a t r e t u r n o n e t o t h e f i r s t s c r e e n a n d v a r i o u s o t h e r d e v i c e s . T h e s es y s t e m s , h o w e v e r, a r e e s s e n ti a ll y d i s o r i e n t i n g b e c a u s e t h e y p r o v i d e n oo v e r a ll vi ew o f m a t e r i a ls a n d n e i t h e r d o t h e y i n d i c a t e t o r e a d e r s e n o u g hi n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t w h e r e li n ks w i ll t a k e t h e m . D i s o r i e n t a ti o n , t h e n ,a ri se s w h e n r e a d e r s f i n d t h e m s e l v e s w i t h i n a h y p e r m e d i a s y s te m a n dfe el t h a t t h e y d o n o t k n o w " w h e r e " t h e y a r e a n d a ls o w h e n t h e y a rew i th i n a p a rt ic u l a r d o c u m e n t a n d d o n o t k n o w h o w t o r e t u r n to a d o c u -m e n t r e a d e a r li e r o r h o w t o f i n d o n e t h e y e x p e c t e x is ts o r w o u l d l ik e toexis t .

T h e p r o b l e m o f r e a d e r o r i e n t a t i o n i s h a r d l y n e w t o i n f o r m a t i o nt e c h n o l o g y. L i s te n e r s a n d r e a d e rs h a v e a l w a y s h a d d i f f ic u l ty o r ie n t i n gt h e m s e l v e s w i t h i n a s tr e a m o f l a n g u a g e . W r i ti n g p r o v i d e d a m e a n s o fr e c o r d i n g s p o k e n l a n g u a g e , a n d r e c o r d i n g i t a l lo w e d i ts a u d i e n c e t o r e-e x a m i n e s o m e t h i n g th a t w o u l d o t h e rw i s e v a ni sh . A l t h o u g h w r i ti ngp r e se r v e s im p o r t a n t p a r t s o f s p o k e n l a n g u a g e , i t n e i t h e r re c o r d s a ll o f itn o r d o e s it , b y it se lf , o f f e r a n y m e a n s o f f i n d i n g s o m e t h i n g t h u s r e-c o r d e d . F o r t h o u s a n d s o f y e ar s a n c ie n t d o c u m e n t s a p p e a r e d i n th e

f o r m o f a m a n u s c r i p t s c r ol l o r c o d e x t h a t w a s e x t r a o r d i n a r i ly d i f f ic u l tt o u s e b e c a u s e i t p r o v i d e d n o m e a n s o f l o c a t in g i n d i v i d u a l p a s s ag e s .E v e n a f t e r t h e i n v e n t i o n o f b o u n d v o l u m e s o f m a n u s c r i p t s , r ea d e rs d i d

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n o t h a v e t h e n u m b e r e d p a g e s , i n d i c e s , a n d t a b l e s o f c o n t e n t s t h a tc h a r a c t e r i z e m o d e r n b o o k t e c h n o l o g y ( B o l te r 1 98 8). T h e p r i n t e d b o o k ' sc o m b i n a t i o n o f a f ix e d t ex t a n d m u l t ip l e i d e n t ic a l c o p i es f o r t h e f ir s tt im e p e r m i t t e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s o p h i st ic a t ed d e vi ce s o f i n f o r m a t i o nr e t ri e v a l l e d d i r ec t l y t o m a j o r c h a n g e s i n t h e i n t e ll e c tu a l c o s m o s o f t h eWest (Eisens te in 1979) .

T h e e x a m p l es f r o m o l d e r i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y r e m i n d u s t h a ts u c h t e c h n o l o g i e s c o n s i s t o f m o r e t h a n m e a n s o f r e c o r d i n g l a n g u a g ea n d o t h e r d a t a . To b e u s a b le , t e c h n o l o g i e s o f r e c o r d i n g d a t a a l s o re -q u i r e c o r o l l a r y o n e s t h a t p r o v i d e r e a d e r s w i t h a c c e s s t o i t . S u c h c o r -o l l a r y t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r a c c e s s i n g , n a v i g a t i n g , a n d r e t r i e v i n g i n f o r m a -t i o n r a n g e f r o m p a g i n a t i o n a n d i n d e x i n g t o r h e t o r ic a l d ev i ce s t h a t p e r -m i t re a d e r s t o f o l l o w c o m p l e x r e a s o n i n g . S o m e o f t h e d e v ic e s o r t e c h n i -q u e s o f b o o k t e c h n o l o g y, su c h a s p a g i n a t i o n a n d t h e li n e ar a r r a n g e m e n to f a rg u m e n t , o b v i o u s l y d e r i v e f r o m i t s d e f i n i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s a ne c o n o m i c a l , f ix e d , i n d e f i n it e l y r e p e a t a b l e t e x t t h a t r e a d e r s c a n e x a m i n ei n p h y s i c a l i s o l a t i o n f r o m o t h e r r e a d e r s a n d o t h e r t e x t s .

H y p e r m e d i a , w h i c h c h an g e s th e n a t u r e o f t ex t, r e q u ir e s n e w m e a n s

o f o r i e n t i n g t h e r e a d e r a n d n e w m e a n s o f r e t r i e v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . A tl e a s t i n t h e e a r l i e r s t a g e s o f h y p e r t e x t a n d h y p e r m e d i a , a u t h o r s m u s tt a k e p a i n s t o e n s u r e t h a t r e a d e r s p e r c e i v e s o m e o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e -t w e e n t h i s n e w f o r m o f t e x t a n d e a r l i e r o n e s .

R u l e 4 . T h e a u t h o r o f h y p e r m e d i a m a t e r i a l s m u s tp rov ide dev i ce s t ha t s t im u la t e t he r e ade r t o t h inka n d e x p l o r e t h e m .R u l e 5 . T h e a u t h o r o f h y p e r m e d ia m u s t e m p l o y

s t y l i s t i c dev i ce s t ha t pe rmi t r e ade r s t o nav ig a t ema t e r i a l s e a s i l y and en joyab ly.These dev ices se rveb o t h a s n a v i g a t i o n a l a i d s f o r r e a d e r s a n d a s m e a n so f r e a s s u r i n g t h e m .Rule 6 . Dev i ce s o f o r i en t a t i on pe rm i t r e ade r s ( a ) t od e t e r m i n e t h e i r p r e s e n t l o c a t i o n , ( b ) t o h a v e s o m ei d e a o f t h a t l o c a t i o n ' s r e l a t i o n t o o t h e r m a t e r i a l s ,( c ) t o r e t u rn t o t he i r s t a r t i ng po in t , and (d ) t o e x -

p lo r e m a t e r i a ls no t d i r ec t l y l i nked t o t ho se i n wh icht h e y p r e s e n t l y f i n d t h e m s e l v e s .T h e d e s ig n e rs o f I n t e r m e d i a h a v e p r o v i d e d s o l u ti o n s to m a n y o f t h e s e

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George P. Landow

Figure 1. Tennyson OV, an overview in the fo rm of a graphic con-cept map.

problems that face hypermedia readers and authors. Although othersystems do not have to use precisely these solutions, they should havesome analogous means of assisting readers. The Intermedia folder

system permits readers to begin their search for information by present-ing a hierarchical organization. Although readers use links as theirprimary means of moving throughout the system, they begin each ses-sion by confronting a desktop on which appear subject folders rangingfrom Anthropology and Biology to Visual Arts. After opening a webthat generates a selection of links readers wanting (to retrieve) informa-tion about Tennyson's poem In Memoriam begin by opening theEnglish folder, after which they open that labeled "Tennyson." Once

inside the Tennyson folder, they chose either the Tennyson overview(See Figure 1 ) or the In Memoriam overview. At this point, readers uselinks to navigate through the materials. The folder system, which pro-

45




Figure 2 . A web view. The we b view, wh ich here appears over layingthe r igh t s ide o f the T ennyson OV, con ta ins an i con fo r each docu-me nt l inked to th i s overv iew. Cl ick ing upo n an i con b r ings readers tothe l inked document i t represents . In contras t to the hierarchical lyorgan ized concep t map c rea ted by an au thor, which shows l inks toind iv idua l b locks , the web v iew tha t In te rmedia genera tes shows a l ldocuments l ink ing to the document as a whole ( in th i s case to theoverview).

vides a c lear point of d epar ture , a lso serves as an a l ternate , i f not a lwayseff ic ien t , means of b rowsing . Equal ly impor tan t , the desk top andfo lder sys tem eff ic ien tly se rve to or ien t the reader by ma king mo vem entback to documents opened prev ious ly a qu ick and easy mat te r.

The web view generated by Intermedia (See Figure 2 . ) s imilar ly

provides readers another e ff ic ien t means of moving through themater ia l s . By s imul taneous ly offe r ing a record of the documents a twhich one has looked and a means of re turn ing them, the web v iew

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George P. Landow

allows readers to benefit from their most recent experiences and retrieveinformation they need. Furthermore, by conveying information aboutthe documents linked to the documents one has activated, the web viewalso shows readers their present position in relation to other materialsand also furnishes an efficient means of traveling to them. Both the webview and folder system thus permit readers to orient themselves comfort-ably in a welter of information.

Link markers and block descriptors (See Figure 3.), the labels In-termedia authors attach to linked blocks, emphasize the presence of in-dividual points of departure and multiple points of arrival rather than

navigation of the entire system. Link markers and block descriptors, inother words, assist readers in orienting themselves in relation to in-dividual links and groups of links, whereas the web view and folder

Figure 3 . A me nu o f b lock desc rip to rs . Th is menu , which In te rmediap rodu ces when a l i nk mar ke r l e ads t o two o r mor e docum e n t s , p ro -v ides t i tl e s o f docu me nts and , wi th in paren theses , desc r ip t ions o f in -d iv idua l l inked b locks .

47



T H E R H E T O R I C O F H Y P E R M E D I A

s y s te m a ss is t t h e m i n o r i e n t i n g t h e m s e l v e s i n r e l a t io n t o l a rg e r p o r t i o n so f t h e m a t e r i a l s . A l t h o u g h t h e s e v a r i o u s I n t e r m e d i a f e a t u r e s r e m o v em a n y s o u rc e s o f r e a d e r d i s o r ie n t a t io n , t h e h y p e r m e d i a a u t h o r m u s tt a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m . I n p a r ti c u l a r, a u t h o r s s h o u l d la b e l f o l d e rs a n dd e s c r ip t i o n s o f l i n k e d b l o c k s w i th a n e y e t o c l a ri ty a n d e f f ic i e n c y.

S o m e h y p e r t e x t s y s t e m s l i k e I n t e r m e d i a p r o v i d e s e v e r a l m e a n s o fhe lp ing o r i en t t he r ea de r ; o the r s p rov ide l i tt le bu i lt - i n a ss i s tance to so lv -i n g b a s i c p r o b l e m s o f o r i e n t a t i o n . B u t w h a t e v e r s y s t e m a u t h o r s u s e ,t h e y s h o u l d u s e o v e r v ie w a n d g a t e w a y d o c u m e n t s , w h i c h a r e d e vi ce s e n -t i r e l y u n d e r t h e i r o w n c o n t r o l . O v e r v i e w d o c u m e n t s , w h i c h c a n t a k e

m a n y f o r m s , a r e a u t h o r - c r e a t e d ( a s o p p o s e d t o s y s t e m - g e n e r a t e d ) d o c -u m e n t s t h a t s e rv e a s d i re c t o r ie s t o a i d i n n a v i g a t i n g t h e m a t e r i a l s . O v e r -v i ews a s s i s t r eade r s t o ga in conven ien t acces s t o a l l t he ma te r i a l s i nm a n y d o c u m e n t s o r t o a b r o a d t o p i c t h a t c u t s a cr o s s se v e ra l d i sc i p li n e s,such a s Vic to r i an i sm, a t e rm tha t p rov ides a nexus fo r i nves t iga t ing thea r t s and l i t e r a tu re , r e l i g ion an d ph i lo sop hy, po l i t i ca l , m i l it a ry, ands o c ia l h i s t o ry, a n d t h e h i s t o r y o f s c ie n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g y.

F u r t h e r m o r e , o n e s h o u l d c o n s i d e r u s i n g s o m e f o r m o f o v e r v i e w

w h e n t o o m a n y l in k s a t t a c h t o a s in g le b l o c k f o r t h e r e a d e r t o e v a l u a tet h e m c o n v e n i e n t ly. U n l i k e so m e o t h e r h y p e r m e d i a sy s te m s t h a t p e r m i to n l y o n e l in k p e r b l o c k o r s c r e e n , I n t e r m e d i a p e r m i t s a n i n d e f i n i ten u m b e r o f l i n k s t o a t t a c h t o e a c h l i n k m a r k e r. O v e r u s i n g t h i s f e a t u r e ,w h i c h s u p p o r t s t h e c a p a c i ty o f h y p e r m e d i a to m o d e l c o m p l e x r e la t io n -s h i p s , c a n c r e a t e t o o m a n y l i n k e d d o c u m e n t s . A v a r i e t y o f f a c t o r sm a k e s d e f i n i n g " t o o m a n y " d i ff ic u l t t o d o . I n s o m e u n u s u a l ca se s m o r et h a n 1 00 d o c u m e n t s c a n c o n v e n i e n t l y l i n k t o a s in g le b l o c k a n d b e c o n -

v e n i e n t l y a c c e s se d f r o m a s i ng le l i n k m a r k e r. T h eIn Memoriam

ove r-v i ew h a s t h e t ex t " i n d i v i d u a l s e c t i o n s " t o w h i c h a ll 1 33 s e c ti o n s o f t h ep o e m l in k , a n d s in c e t h e m e n u t h a t a p p e a r s w h e n r e a d e rs f o l lo w t h el ink s imp ly l i s t s t he s ec t ions i n numer i ca l o rde r, t h i s l a rge number o fl i n k e d d o c u m e n t s c r e a te s n o p r o b l e m s . S i m i la r ly, a n o t h e r p a r t o f t h iss a m e d o c u m e n t l in k s to s e ve ra l d o z e n u se s o f w o r d s o r p h r a se s f o u n dt h r o u g h o u t t h e p o e m . B e c a u s e , l i k e t h e l i n k i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l s e c t i o n s ,t h i s l i n k i n g o f t e r m s t a k e s t h e f o r m o f a l i s t , a m e n u c o n t a i n i n g m a n yi t e m s w o r k s w e l l .

M o s t o f t h e t i m e , h o w e v e r, a u t h o r s l i n k d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o fd o c u m e n t s o n d i f f e r e n t s u b j e c t s , a n d l o n g l i s t s h e r e c o n f u s e . W h e n

4 8



G e o rg e P. L a n d o w

p l a n n i n g t o l i n k m o r e t h a n f iv e o r s ix d o c u m e n t s o n t h e s z m e s u b j e ct ,p a r t i c u l a r l y w h e n t h e s e a p p e a r i n a l i s t w i t h d o c u m e n t s o n d i f f e r e n ts u b j e c ts , o n e s h o u l d c o n s i d e r o rg a n i z i n g m a t e r i a l s in o n e s u b j e c t b y a no v e r v i e w a n d l in k i n g t h a t o v e r v i e w i n s t e a d . F o r e x a m p l e , r a t h e r t h a nl in k s ev e ra l d o z e n d o c u m e n t s a b o u t a ra n g e o f s u b je c t s to a te x t " S o c i a la n d P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y " i n t h e Vi c t o r i a n o v e r v i e w, o n e d o e s b e t t e r t oo rg a n i z e t h e m w i t h o v e r v ie w s f o r p u b l ic h e a l t h , t h e B r it is h E m p i r e , a n dp o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y a n d t h e n l i n k t h e s e o v e r v i e w s . S i n c e a b o d y o fh y p e r m e d i a m a t er ia l s h a s t h e c a p a c it y to g r o w a n d c h a n g e , a d d i n g b o t hl i n k s a n d d o c u m e n t s , o n e c a n e x p e c t t h a t t h e n a t u r e a n d n u m b e r o f

s u c h o v e r v i e w s w il l c h a n g e a s t h e o t h e r m a t e r i a ls d o .T h i s k i n d o f o v e r v i e w, l ik e o t h e r s , t a k e s t h e f o l l o w i n g six f o r m s :i . G r a p h i c c o n c e p t m a p . O n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f o r m s i s t h e

g r a p h i c c o n c e p t m a p ( Te n n y s o n O V; f i g u r e 1 ) . T h i s k i n d o f g r a p h i cc o n c e p t m a p , w h i c h i n f o r m s t h e r e a d e r w h a t i n f o r m a t i o n is av a il ab l ea b o u t a p a r t i c u l a r to p i c , c o n t a i n s l in k s t o t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e s eg r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f i n f o r m a t i o n o rg a n i z e a b o d y o f c o m p l e xi de a s so t h a t r e a d e rs c a n b e t t e r c o m p r e h e n d t h e m . A t t h e s a m e t im e , t h e

ove rv i ew suggest s t ha t a l l t he se va r ious i deas r e l a t e t o som e cen t r a lp h e n o m e n o n o r i m p i n g e u p o n i t. T h is c e n te r m a y t a k e th e f o r m o f a na u t h o r ( Te n n y s o n , D a r w i n ) , c h r o n o l o g i c a l o r p e r io d t e r m ( E i g h te e n t hC e n t u r y, Vi c t o ri a n ), i d e a o r m o v e m e n t ( R e a li sm , F e m i n is m ) , o r o t h e rc o n c e p t ( B i b l i c a l Ty p o l o g y, R e l i g i o n i n E n g l a n d ) . T h e i m p l i e d a n do f t e n r e i n f o r c e d m e s s a g e o f s u c h a r r a n g e m e n t s i s s i m p l y t h a t a n y i d e at h a t t h e r e a d e r m a k e s t h e c e n t e r o f h i s o r h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s e x i s t ss i t u a t e d w i t h i n a f i e l d o f o t h e r p h e n o m e n a , w h i c h m a y o r m a y n o t

r e l a t e t o i t c ausa l ly. Such g raph ic p re sen ta t ion o f ma te r i a l s dep ic t s t hei n f o r m i n g i d e a o r h i d d e n a g e n d a o f h y p e r m e d i a m a t e ri a ls , n a m e l y, t h a to n e p r o c e e d s in u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n y p a r t i c u la r p h e n o m e n o n b y r e l a ti n g i tt o o t h e r c o n t e x t s .

i i . F l o w c h a r t s u g g e s t i n g v e c t o r f o r c e s . A n o t h e r k i n d o f g r a p h i cc o n c e p t o v e r v i e w, t h e f l o w c h a r t s u g g e s ti n g v e c t o r f o r c e s, u s e s a r r o w st o s h o w lin es o f in f l u e n c e o r c a u s a l c o n n e c t i o n . " T e n n y s o n ' s L i t e ra r yR e l a t i o n s " ( S ee F ig u r e 4 .) f o r e x a m p l e , u s es a r r o w s t o s h o w h i s r e l a t io nt o a u t h o r s w h o i n f l u e n c e d h i m , t h o s e h e i n f lu e n c e d , a n d t h o s e w i t hw h o m h e e x i s t e d i n t e r m s o f m u t u a l i n f l u e n c e . T h i s f o r m o f g r a p h i co v e r v i e w p r o v e s p a r t i c u l a r l y u s e f u l w h e n p r e s e n t i n g c l e a r h i s t o r i c a lr e l a t i onsh ips .

4 9



T H E R H ETO R IC OF H Y P E RME D I A

~-NNYSON'S LITERARY RELATIONS

( '1 ~ au c e '~ ( ' - - " ~ ' ~ il ~ E l b l e ~ ~ t~ a ke sp ea re ) ~ l t o n ' ~

Chivalry~Medievalism

Technique

SwinburneT E N N Y S O N

(G E , S M L )

/~Cole r-~dg '~

C hr is tina R osse t ti ~ l Th e P re -R~W W I P o e ts

T .S . El io t

Figure 4 . Flow char t suggesting vector forces : "T enn yso n 's L i teraryRe la t i ons . "

i ii . Ti m e l i n e . T h e " N u c l e a r A r m s T i m e l i n e " ( S ee F i g u r e 5 .) s h o w sa n o t h e r k i n d o f g r a p h ic o v e r v ie w d o c u m e n t . A t B r o w n w e h a v e c r e a t e d

t h is d o c u m e n t u si n g I n t e r Va l , t h e I n t e r m e d i a t i m e l i n e e d i t o r, b u t o n ec a n e a s i l y c r e a t e s i m i l a r d o c u m e n t s u s i n g a n y t e x t e d i t o r. Ti m e l i n e sp r o v i d e a m e a n s o f c l e a r ly o rg a n i z i n g m a t e r i a l s o r e v e n e n t i r e c o u rs e st h a t h a v e a s t r o n g c h r o n o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n . A n y t i m e l i n e w i t h l in k s inf a c t s e rv e s a s a n o v e r v i e w f o r t h e m a t e r ia l s i t j o i n s . A l t h o u g h t im e l i n e sp r o v i d e s a m e a n s o f o rg a n i z a t i o n p a r t ic u l a r ly c o n v e n i e n t to a u t h o r s ,r e m e m b e r t h a t t h e y m a y s i m p l i fy c o m p l e x re l a t io n s h i p s a n d h a v e l it tl et o c o m p e l t h e i n t e r e s t o f a r e a d e r u n a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e i r s u b j e c t .

i v . N a t u r a l o b j e c t . I m a g e s o f n a t u r a l o b j e c ts , l ik e t h e p h o t o g r a p ho f a c e l l ( S e e F i g u r e 6 . ) o r m a p s p r o v i d e a k i n d o f n a t u r a l l y o c c u r i n gc o n c e p t m a p t h a t a u t h o r s c a n e a s i ly a p p l y. A t t a c h i n g l i n k s t o l a b e ls in

5 0



George P. Landow

technical diagrams s imilar ly provides an obvious way of enr iching con-vent iona l in format ion technology.

v. Outl ine. As "Race and Class OV" (See Figure 7.) a text docu-men t , shows, ou t l ines add a graphic com pon ent to text by breaking upthe f low that character izes discursive prose. By abandoning the table-of -conten ts or l i s t mode tha t charac te r izes page-bound, pr in ted tex t ,one l iberates hype rm edi a f rom the restr ic tions of pr int a nd enables i t todo what i t does best - - present networks of re la t ionships , while a lsoenabl ing the reader to t raverse those relat ionships es tabl ishing connec-t ions be tween pa i red set s of da ta am ong la rger groupings of mater ia l. I f

Figure 5. Timel ine and the ga tewa y f i l e th a t l eads to i t f r o m thel i tera ture mater ia ls . The t imel ine , which appears on the lef t , serves asthe overview fo r these chronological ly ar ranged mater ia ls . A br ie fessay on the Do om sd ay Clock i s to the r igh t o f the timel ine , a nd im-

media te ly be low i t appears " Wa t e r l a n d a n d N u c le a r D i s a r m a m e n t , "the ga teway document tha t se rves as a b r idge be tween mate r ia l s on acon temporary Br i t i sh nove l and the t imel ine .

51



TH E RHE TORI C OF HY P E R ME D I A

Figure 6. Diagram of a natural object used as an overview.

hy per m ed ia is charac te r ized by connec t iv i ty, to real ize it s po ten t ia l onem us t em plo y dev ices tha t emp has ize tha t qua l i ty. L i s t s , t ab les o f con-t en t s, and i ndi ce s , t houg h s ti ll o f u se , do no t wor k i n th i s mann e r.

v i. Tex t a s it s own ove rv i ew. W hen conve r t i ng t ex t do cum en t s

o r igina ll y c r ea ted fo r boo k t echn o logy t o p r e sen t a t i on on hype rm ed ia ,one may occass iona l ly use the document i t se l f as i t s own overv iew. Aswe have a l r eady obse rved , any s ing le do cum en t i n a hyp e rm ed ia sy s temcan se rve as a d i rec tory s ince , once opened , i t p rov ides the immedia tecen t e r and r e f e r ence po in t f o r t he r ead e r ' s nex t a c t o f exp lo ra ti on . T hecom bin a t i on o f li nk marke r s w i th in t he doc um en t s and a web v iew tha tshows r eade r s a gene ra l p i c tu r e o f whe re t hose l i nks connec t m ake t hetex t se rve as a d i rec tory. The au thor o f educa t iona l mate r ia l s , pa r-

t i cu la rly those invo lv ing l i te ra ry tex t s o r th ose w hich p lace p r im ary em-phas i s on t he de ta il s o f a t ex t, m ay t he r e fo re w i sh to t ake adva n t age o fth i s qua l i t y o f hype rmed ia . Sec t i on 7 o fIn Memoriam (See Figure 8 . )

52



George P. L a n d o w

e x e m p l i fi e s a b r ie f t e xt d o c u m e n t t h a t f u n c t i o n s a s it s o w n o v e r v i e w.O t h e r e x a m p l e s i n c l u d e t h e f u l l t ex t o f K i p l in g ' s s h o rt s t o ry " M a r yP o s t g a t e " a w e l l a s s h o r t e r w o r k s .

H y p e r m e d i a i s r e a d er o r i e n t e d b e c a u s e r e a d e r s c o n t i n u a l l y r e c e n te ra n d r e o r g a n i z e t h e m a t e r ia ls t h e y e n c o u n t e r a c c o r d i n g t o t h e ir o w n i n -t er es t. I n c r e a ti n g h y p e r m e d i a d o c u m e n t s , t h e r e f o r e, a u t h o r s s h o u l dt a k e a d v a n t a g e o f m u l t i p l e li n k i n g t o o f f e r d i r ec t o r ie s i n v a r i o u s f o r m sf o r t h e s a m e g e n e r a l m a t e r i a l s .

R u l e 7 . A u t h o r s s h o u l d c o n s i d e r e m p l o y i n g s e v e r a lo v e r v i e w s t o o r g a n i z e t h e s a m e b o d y o f m a t e r i a l

a n d t o a s s i s t r e a d e r s t o g a i n e a s y a c c e s s t o i t .R e a d e r s s h o u l d , f o r e x a m p l e , h a v e o v e r v i e w s f o r b o t h a n a u t h o r a n d aw o r k b y t h a t a u t h o r .

EElPara l l e l s i n Rac i sm and C las s P re jud iceAnthony S. W ohl, Professor of History, Va ssar C ollege

BE]Vi c t o r ia n s c i e n c e , p s e u d o s c i e n c e , l ik e p h r e n o l o g y, a n d p o p u l a r l it e r a tu r e a s s ig n e d

s i m i l a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t o B l a c k s a n d m e m b e r sof the lower c lasses . Both we re see na s

EEB1 . U n r e a s o n a b l e , i r r a t i o n a l , a n d e a s i l y e x c i t e d

E a2 . C h i l d l i k e .

r~q3 . H a v i n g n o r e li g io n b u t o n ly s u p e r s t i t i o n .4 . H a v i n g n orespec t for pr iva te proper ty or no not ions of

E ap r o p e r t y .

5 . E x c e s s i v e l y s e x u a l ,6 . Trea t ingt he i r womenfo lkb a d l y .

r~ l7 . F i l t h y .

E~8 . S h a ri n g p h y s ic a l q u a l i t i e s .

9 . I n h a b i t a n ts o f u n k n o w n d a r klands or territories ( M a y h e w ) .r= lW h a t f u n c t i o n s i n Vi c t o r i a n t h o u g h t d i d s u c hforms of pre judice hav e?

We r e t h e s e a t t it u d e s a n d p r e j u d i c e s ar e s p o n s e t o p a r t i c u l a r i d e n t i f i a b l e c h a n g e s i n

Bri t i sh soc i e ty?

F i g u re 7 . O v e r v i e w in th e f o r m o f a n o u tl in e : " R a c e a n d C l a s s 0I I . "

53



TH E RH E TO R IC OF HYPERMED IA

Figure 8 . T ex t doc um ent as i ts ow n overv iew: " I n M e m o r i a m , Sec-t ion 7 . " The web v iew, which appears a t the r igh t , shows thed o c u men t s l i nked to t h is s ect ion o f Tennyson ' s p o em . The th i ck li nedis t inguishing " I n M em O V, " the abbrev ia ted t i t l e o f " InM e m o r ia m O V, " show s tha t the reader t rave led to the p resen t docu-me n t by fo l l ow ing a l i nk f r om the re .

Closely related to overviews and director ies are those documentsthat serve as gateways between courses or bodies of mater ia ls inseparate discipl ines . One such gateway document joins the mater ia lstha t suppor t severa l Engl i sh courses and those tha t suppor tNuc lea rA r m s a n d A r m s C o n tr o l offered by Richard Sm oke of Bro wn Univers i -ty ' s Center for Fore ign Pol icy Development . The l i t e ra ry mater ia l sdiscuss Victor ian technology, canals , and rai l roads but contain no

paral le l docum ents abo ut nuc lear technolog y and the an t i -nuc learmo vem ent , two subjec ts tha t p lay a s ign i ficant par t in Gra ham Swif t 'sWater land (1983) , a novel read in one of the l i terature courses .

54



George P. Landow

T h e r e f o r e , a b r i e f d o c u m e n t th a t a n n o u n c e s th e c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e nWaterland O V a n d t h e t im e l i n e t h a t t h e n u c l e a r -a r m s - c o u r s e m a t e ri a lse m p l o y a s a d i r e c t o r y ( F i g u r e 5 ). T h i s b r i e f d o c u m e n t e n a b l e s s tu d e n t si n t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y s u r v e y o f E n g l i s h l i te r a t u r e to e x p l o r e t h e m a t e r ia l sc r e a t e d f o r a c o u r s e i n a n o t h e r d i s c i pl in e . S i m i l ar ly, s t u d e n t s f o r m t h a to t h e r d i s c ip l in e c a n n o w e n c o u n t e r m a t e r i a ls s h o w i n g t h e e f f ec t s o nc o n t e m p o r a r y f i c t i o n o f t h e c o n c e r n s c o v e r e d i n t h e i r p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c ec o u r s e .

T H E R H E T O R I C O F D E PA R T U R E

RE A D E R S O F H Y P E R M E D I A n ee d s o m e in d ic a t i on o f w h e r et h e y c a n f i n d li n k s a n d t h e n , a f t e r th e y h a v e f o u n d t h e s e i n d i c a-t i o n s , w h e r e t h o s e l in k s w i ll l e a d t h e m a n d w h y t h e y a r e l e d th e r e .

I n t e r m e d i a p r o v i d e s a li n k m a r k e r i n t h e f o r m o f a s m a l l h o r i z o n t a l r ec -t a n g le w i t h in w h i c h a p p e a rs a n a r ro w. A l t h o u g h I n t e r m e d i a p r o v i d e sr e a d e rs w i t h t h i s c l ea r m e a n s o f a s c e r ta i n i n g t h e p r e s e n c e o f l i n k s , t h e ys ti ll r e q u i r e a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t o n a b o u t w h e r e f o l l o w i n g t h e l in k s w i lll ea d . T h e s y s te m p r o v i d e s t w o m e a n s o f i n f o r m i n g t h e r ea d e r , o n eg e n e r a l a n d t h e o t h e r s p e c if ic . T h e w e b v i ew, w i t h w h i c h t h e r e a d e r c a nn a v ig a t e th r o u g h t h e s y s te m o f l i n k e d d o c u m e n t s , s h o w s a ll d o c u m e n t sc o n n e c t e d t o t h e a c ti ve d o c u m e n t - - t h a t w h i c h t h e re a d e r h a s a c ti v a te de i th e r b y o p e n i n g i t o r b y c l ic k i n g u p o n it if i t w a s p r e v i o u s l y o p e n e d .T h e w e b v ie w, h o w e v e r , d o e s n o t i n d i c a te to w h i c h l in k a d o c u m e n tc o n n e c t s . T h e s e c o n d , m o r e s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n f u r n i s h e d b y I n -t e r m e d i a ta k e s t h e f o r m o f b l o c k d e s c ri p to r s t h a t a p p e a r in m e n u s w h e nt h e r e a d e r f o l l o w s a l i n k m a r k e r t h a t l e a d s t o t w o o r m o r e d o c u m e n t s .

A s u s e f u l as is s y s t e m - p r o v i d e d i n f o r m a t i o n , a u t h o r s o f g r a p h i ca n d t e x t u a l d o c u m e n t s s t i l l h a v e t o a s s i s t r e a d e r s b y f o l l o w i n g s e v e r a lru l e s .

R u l e 8 . N e v e r p l a c e l i n k m a r k e r s i n d e p e n d e n t o fa c c o m p a n y i n g t ex t o r i m a g e .

I n t e xt d o c u m e n t s I n t e r m e d i a a u t o m a t i c a l l y p la c es l in k m a r k e r s a d j a -c e n t t o t e x t s i n c e i t o n l y a ll o w s o n e t o c r e a t e l i n k s a f t e r h i g h l i g h t i n g al e tt e r, w o r d , o r p h r a s e . B u t I n t e r m e d i a d o e s p e r m i t p l a c e m e n t o f l in k s

55



THE RHETORIC OF HYPERME DIA

a n y w h e r e i n g r a p h i c d o c u m e n t s , a n d t h e y c a n a p p e a r t o f l o a t f r e e .S i m i l a r l y H y p e r c a r d p e r m i t s p l a c i n g b u t t o n s i n d e p e n d e n t o f t e x t o rg r a p h i c s , a n d s u c h f re e f l o a t in g b u t t o n s a n d l i n k e r m a r k e r s c o n f u s e a n dd i so r i en t .

R u l e 9 . W h e n c r e a t i n g a l in k o r p o s i t i o n i n g a l in km a r k e r t h a t i n d i c a t e s t h e p r e s e n c e o f a l i n k ,r e m e m b e r t h a t a l l l i n k s a r e b i d i r e c t i o n a l .

S o m e s y s t e m s , l i k e H y p e r c a r d , o n l y p e r m i t u n i - d i r e c t i o n a l l i n k i n g ,w h i c h r e m o v e s m u c h o f t h e p o w e r a n d f r e e d o m o f h y p e r m e d i a . T h ea u t h o r s h o u l d c r e a t e b i d i r e c t io n a l li n k s . W h e n c r e a t i n g s u c h l in k s t h a t

p e r m i t t h e r e a d e r t o t r a v e l i n b o t h d i r e c ti o n s , t h e a u t h o r s h o u l d r e a l iz et h a t r e a d e rs m a y a p p r o a c h t h e m w i th m o r e t h a n o n e p u r p o s e i n m i n d .T h e r e f o r e ,

R u l e 1 0 . Av o i d l i n k i n g t o w o r d s o r p h r a s e s t h a t o n l yp r o v i d e a p p r o p r i a t e p o i n t s o f a r r i v a l b u t g i v e t h er e a d e r n o s u g g e s t i o n o f w h e r e t h e l i n k m i g h t l e a do n d e p a r t u r e .

W h e n t w o o r m o r e d o c u m e n t s l i n k t o a p a r t i c u l a r m a r k e r , s u c h e m -

phas i s on b id i r ec t iona l i t y o f t he l i nk i s no t so c ruc ia l s ince the sys t emw i ll i n d i c a t e t h e se m u l t i p l e d e s t in a t i o n s . I n I n t e r m e d i a o n e s o l u t i o n t ot h e n e e d f o r p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n l i e s i n a p p e n d i n g m u l t i p l e d o c u -m e n t s t o a s i ng l e m a r k e r, b u t s u c h a p r o c e d u r e s till r e q u i r es t h e r e a d e rt o a c t i v a te th e l i n k m a r k e r b e f o r e b e i n g a b le to o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n a n dis h e n c e n o t e n t i re l y s a t is f a c to r y. A b e t t e r a p p r o a c h r e q u i re s f i n d i n gs o m e w a y t o a p p e n d i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e l i n k m a r k e r.

R u l e 11 . P l a c e t h e l in k m a r k e r in c lo s e p r o x i m i t y t o

a t e x t t h a t i n d i c a t e s th e p r o b a b l e n a t u r e o f t h e l i n kd e s t i n a t i o n .B o t h t e x t a n d g r a p h i c d o c u m e n t s r e q u i r e f o l l o w i n g t h is la s t r u l e. L o o k -i n g a t t h e Te n n y s o n O V ( f ig u r e 1 ), a g r a p h i c o v e r v ie w d o c u m e n t t h a ts u r r o u n d s t h e p o e t w i t h a r a n g e o f s u b j ec t s n e c e s s a ry t o u n d e r s t a n d h i sw o r k s , o n e s e e s t h a t e a c h o f t h e s e p a r a t e b o x e s c o n t a i n s t e x t t h a tspec if ie s i n va ry ing degrees w ha t t h e r eade r can expec t t o f ind o n a r r iva la t th e li n k d e s t in a t io n . T h e b o x es la b e le d " B i o g r a p h y " a n d " [ b i o -g r a p h i c a l] Ti m e l i n e " c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e th e i r d e s t i n a ti o n s . T h a t l a b e l e d" L i t e r a r y R e l a t i o n s " l e a d s t o a n o t h e r g r a p h i c d i r e c t o r y f i l e , w h i c ht a k e s a s t a n d a r d f o r m , a n d a f t e r e x p l o r i n g t h e m a t e r i a l s o n a f e w

56



George P. Landow

a u t h o r s o r s u b j e c t s , r e a d e rs l e a r n t o e x p e c t t h is k i n d o f g r a p h i cr e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f l it e r a r y r e l a ti o n s h i p s . S i n c e m o r e v a r i e t y ex i st s i n r el a -t i o n t o o t h e r m a t e r ia l s o r g a n i z e d b y t h e o v e rv i e w, r e a d e r s d o n o t k n o wi n a d v a n c e e x a c tl y w h a t t o e x p e c t f r o m e a c h la b el . T h u s , " C u l t u r a lC o n t e x t ( Vi c t o r i a n i s m ) , " w h i c h l i n k s t o t h e Vi c t o r i a n O V, a l s o c o n -n e c ts t o a n es sa y " Te n n y s o n a n d V i c t o r i a n i s m . "

A u t h o r s n e e d t o u s e s p e c i fy i n g t ex t s i n te x t d o c u m e n t s a s w e l l.W h e n a n es sa y o n a m o d e r n a u t h o r c o n t a i n s a li n k m a r k e r n e a r " F r e u -d i a n i s m , " " W o r l d W a r I , " o r s o m e as p e ct o f l it er ar y t e c h n i q u e , s u c ha s " T h e m e " o r " I m a g e r y , " r ea d er s ca n ex p ec t t o e n c o u n t e r a n es sa y

o n t h e s e s u b j e c ts o r a d i a g r a m m a t i c a n a ly s is o f t h e m . T h e p o i n t is t h a tr e a d e rs n e e d a g e n e r a l id e a o f w h a t t o e x p e c t b e f o r e t h e y s et o u t o n t h e i re x p l o r a t i o n s . T h u s ,

R u l e 1 2 . W h e n c r e a ti n g d o c u m e n t s , a s s is t r ea d e rsb y p h r a s i n g s t a t e m e n t s o r p o s i n g q u e s t i o n s t h a tp r o v i d e o b v i o u s o c c a s i o n s f o r f o l l o w i n g l i n k s .R u l e 1 3 . W h e n p o s s i b l e p r o v i d e s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a -t ion ab ou t a l i nk des t ina t ion by d i r ect ly d raw ing a t -

t en t ion to i t .T h e m o s t p r e c i s e u s e o f t e x t t o s p e c i f y a l i n k d e s t i n a t i o n t a k e s t h e f o r mo f s p e c i fi c d i r e c t i o n s t h a t i n v i t e r e a d e r s t o m a k e t h e i r w a y t h e r e . F o r e x -a m p l e , th e d o c u m e n t e n t it le d " P o i n t o f Vie w i n ' T h e P r u s s i a n O f f i c e r "b e g i n s , " P o i n t o f Vi ew [ lin k t o d e f i n i t i o n ] , " a n d i n th e d o c u m e n t e n -t it l ed " N e o c l a s s i c a l C o u p l e t " t h e f o l l o w i n g s e n t e n c e a p p e a r s n e x t to as a m p l e o f P o p e ' s s at i r e o n w o m e n : " F o l l o w t o se e a w o m a n ' s v i e w ; "w h i c h l e a d s t o L a d y M a r y Wo r t l e y M o n t a g u e ' s c o u p l e t s . T h i s d e v i c e ,

w h i c h m u s t b e u s e d s p a r i n g l y, is p a rt i c u la r l y u s e f u l w h e n i n d i c a t i n gb i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n , d e f i n i t i o n s o f k e y t e r m s , a n d t h e p r e s e n c eo f o p p o s i n g p o i n t s o f v ie w.

57




T H E R H E TO R I C O F A R R I VA L

( G R A P H I C D O C U M E N T S )

CONVENTIONAL TITLES do not adequately direct the readerhow to relate a graphic image to other materials. In contrast,"Vi ctor ian Design: Medieval Revival" (See Figure 9 .),

an illustration of an item exhibited at the 1851 Crystal Palace ex-hibition, the first world's fair, exemplifies this kind of encoding orrhetoric required to enable the user to make sense of graphic docume nts-- that is, to discern one or more conceptual relationships among themand the documents to which they link. The appended text reads: "Thiscuriosity from the Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851 is not a suit of ar-mor but a stove built in the shape of one. What do such bizarre glancesback at the past tell us about the Victorian age, which invented the idea

Figure 9. The use of text to orient the reader upon arrival in agraphics file: "Victorian Design: Medieval RevivaL" Not e the use ofqueries to direct the reader to additional links.

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George P. Landow

o f P r o g r e s s as w e k n o w i t? I n t h e p o e m s y o u h a v e r ea d c a n y o u f i n d a n ye x a m p l e s o f t h u s c l o th i n g m o d e r n p u r p o s e s i n a n c i e n t f o r m s ? " R e a d e r sw h o h i g h li g h t t h e l in k m a r k e r a n d i ss u e a c o m m a n d t o f o ll o w re c ei ve am e n u o f v a r io u s V i c to r ia n l it er a ry w o r k s , i n c l u d in g Te n n y s o n ' s " M o r t ed ' A r t h u r , " a p o e m s et in m e d i e v al E n g l a n d , a n d " T i t h o n u s , " o n e se ti n t h e G r e e c e o f a n c i e n t m y t h . E x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h e s e m a t e r i a l s h a st a u g h t t h a t t o b e e d u c a t i o n a l l y e ff e c ti v e t h e y m u s t f o l l o w t h e se g e n e ra lp r i n c i p l e s o f h y p e r m e d i a r h e t o r i c :

R u l e 1 4 . L i n k e d g r a p h ic m a t er i al s m u s t a p p e a rw i t h a p p e n d e d t e x t s t h a t e n a b l e t h e u s e r t o

e s t a b l i s h a r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n a p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r ea n d t h a t o f a r r i v a l . T h e s o l u t i o n w e h a v e a d o p t e da t I R I S a p p e a r s i n fi g u r e 9 , w h o s e t e x t (a ) p r o v i d e df a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n , ( b ) e n c o u r a g e s r e a d e r s t or el at e th a t i n f o r m a t i o n t o a p r o b l e m o n w h i c h t h e ya r e w o r k i n g , a n d ( c ) c o n t a i n s l i n k s t h a t f o l l o wt h e m t o p u r s u e v a r i o u s i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . F r o m t h i sr u l e f o l l o w t w o m o r e :

R u l e 1 5 . T h e e n t i r e t e x t a c c o m p a n y i n g v i s u a lm a t e r ia l a n d n o t j u s t t h e o p e n i n g s e n t e n c e o r t w os e r v e s a s a n i n t r o d u c t i o n . A n dR u l e 1 6 . T h e t e x t a c c o m p a n y i n g a n im a g e d o e s n o th a v e t o spec i fy a l l r e l e v a n t i n f o r m a t i o n t h e a u t h o rw i s h e s t h e r e a d e r t o h a v e : r a t h e r e m p h a s i z i n g t h a ta r e l a t ionsh ip ex i s t s a t a l l m a y b e e n o u g h . F r o mw h i c h f o l l o w s :

R u l e 1 7 . Te x t s s e r v e n o t o n l y t o p r o v i d e i n f o r m a -t i o n b u t a l s o t o r e a s s u r e th e r e a d e r t h a t th e l in k e m -b o d i e s a s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d t o p r o v i d es o m e h i n t, h o w e v e r , i n c o m p l e t e , o f h o w t h a t r e la -t i o n s h i p c a n b e f o r m u l a t e d b y t h e r e a d e r.

T h e v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n , w h i c h p r o v i d e s i n t e r e s t i n g d a t a o f a n u n e x -p e c t e d s o r t , a l so e n f o r c e s t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t r e le v a n c e is i n t h e m i n d o f t h eb e h o l d e r a n d t h a t t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r 's f u n c t i o n i n w h a t e v e r f ie ld is t o i n -q u i re w h a t c o n n e c t i o n s m i g h t ex is t a m o n g v a r io u s k i n d s o f d a t a a n dh o w t h e i r r e l a t i v e v a l u e m i g h t b e d e t e r m i n e d .

5 9



THE R HETORI C O F H Y P ER M E D I A

T H E R H E T O R I C O F A R R I VA L

( T E X T D O C U M E N T S )

IN G E N E R A L , t ex t d o c u m e n t s cr e a te f a r f ew e r p r o b l e m s f o rr e a d e rs w h o h a v e e n t e r e d t h e m b y l in k s t h a n d o g r a p h i c o n e s . T h ep r i n c ip l e s t h a t a p p l y t o p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n i n la rg e l y v i s u al

d o c u m e n t s a ls o a p p ly to t e xt d o c u m e n t s , b u t f ew p ro b l e m s o c c u r w h e nl i n k in g t e x t t o t e x t, b e c a u s e t w o s y s t e m f e a t u r e s , l i n k m a r k e r s a n d b l o c ke x t e n t s , h e l p d i r e c t t h e r e a d e r. F o r e x a m p l e , w h e n o n e f o l l o w s a l i n kf r o m B e n j a m i n D i s r a e l i ' s b i o g r a p h y t o a n e s s a y e n t i t l e d " B r i t i s h E m -p i r e , " o n e e n t e r s t h a t e s s a y a t t h e p o i n t w h e r e t h e d e s t i n a t i o n o f t h el in k a p p e a r s . T h e l i n k m a r k e r, w h i c h is a c t i v a t e d w h e n o n e a r r iv e s in an e w d o c u m e n t , a p p e a r s d a r k e n e d a n d t h e r e f o r e a t tr a ct s t h e r e a d e r ' s at -t e n t io n . I f o n e th e n p u ll s d o w n t h e I n t e r m e d i a m e n u a n d c h o o s e s" b l o c k e x t e n t , " t h e s y s t e m s u r r o u n d s t h e e n t i r e b l o c k o f l i n k e d t e x twi th a do t ted l ine . Mo st such l inks a re se l f-explana tory because the l inkedb l o c k s a n d d o c u m e n t ti tl es t o g e t h e r c o n t a i n t w o s ets o f s im i l a r o r id e n -t ic a l t e r m s . I n t h is c a s e t h e n a m e " D i s r a e l i " a p p e a r s i n t h e t it le o f t h e

f ir st d o c u m e n t a n d " B r i t is h E m p i r e " w i t h i n t h e l in k e d b l o c k , a n d" D i s r a e l i " a p p e a r s i n t h e l i n k e d b l o c k o f t h e s e c o n d d o c u m e n t a n d" B r i t i s h E m p i r e " i n t h e t i t l e .

D O C U M E N T L E N G T H I N H Y P E R M E D I A

WH A T R U L E S O F S T Y L E o r d o c u m e n t p re p a ra t io n f o llo wf r o m t h e f a c t th a t h y p e r m e d i a is m a d e u p o f b lo c k s o f te x tj o i n e d b y l in k s ? W h e r e a s p r i n t t e c h n o l o g y e m p h a s i z e s t h e

c a p a c i ty o f l a n g u a g e t o f o r m a l i n ea r s t re a m o f t e x t t h a t m o v e s u n r e l e n t -i n gl y f o r w a r d , h y p e r m e d i a e n c o u ra g e s b r a n c h i n g a n d c r e at in g m u l ti p ler o u t e s t o t h e s a m e p o i n t . E a c h i n f o r m a t i o n m e d i u m h a s i t s o b v i o u ss t re n g t h s, b u t t h o s e o f h y p e r m e d i a d e p e n d u p o n i ts be in g c o m p o s e d o fi n d i v i d u a l s e g m e n t s t h a t c a n j o i n t o o t h e r s e g m e n t s i n m u l t i p l e w a y s

a n d b y m u l t i p l e r o u t e s . H y p e r m e d i a n a t u r a l l y l e a d s t o c o n c e i v i n gd o c u m e n t s i n te r m s o f s e p a r a t e b r i e f r e a d i n g u n it s . W h e r e a s o rg a n i z i n g

6 0



G e o rg e P. L a n d o w

o n e ' s d a t a a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n i n a p r i n t m e d i u mn e c e s s a ri ly l e a d s t o f i t ti n g t h e m i n t o a l in e a r a r r a n g e m e n t , h y p e r m e d i a ,

w h i c h p e r m i t s l i n e a r l i n k i n g , n o n e t h e l e s s e n c o u r a g e s p a r a l l e l , r a t h e rt h a n l in e a r, a rg u m e n t s . S u c h s t r u c t u r e s n e c e s sa r il y r e q u i r e a m o r e a c -t i ve r eade r. S ince a ma jo r sou rce o f a l l t he se cha rac t e r i s t i c s o fh y p e r m e d i a d e r i v e f r o m t h e s e l i n k e d r e a d i n g u n i t s , o n e h a s t o c r e a t eh y p e r m e d i a w i t h t h a t f a c t i n m i n d . T h e r e f o r e ,

Rule 18. When creat ing documents for hyper-media, conceive the text units as brief passages inorder to take ma xim um advantage o f the link ing

capaci t ies of hypermedia .W h a t e v e r i t s u l t i m a t e e f f e c t o n s c h o l a r l y a n d c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g ,

h y p e r m e d i a t o d a y f r e q u e n t ly c o n t a in s t e x t tr a n s f e rr e d f r o m p r i n te db o o k s . S u c h m a t e ri a ls c o m b i n e t h e t w o t e c h n o l o g ie s o f w r it in g b y a t-t a c h i n g l in k e d d o c u m e n t s , w h i c h m a y c o n t a i n i m a g e s , t o a f ix e d st re a mo f t ex t. A n y o n e p r e p a r i n g s u c h m a t e r ia l s c o n f r o n t s t h e p r o b l e m o f h o wbes t t o p re se rve the i n t eg r i t y o f t he o lde r tex t , w h ich m ay be a l it e r a ry,p h i l o s o p h i c a l , o r o t h e r w o r k w h o s e o v e r a ll s t r u c t u r e p la y s a n i m p o r t a n t

r o l e i n i t s e f f e c t . T h e b a s i c q u e s t i o n t h a t s o m e o n e p r e s e n t i n g t e x tc r e a te d f o r p r i n t t e c h n o l o g y i n h y p e r m e d i a m u s t a n s w e r is c a n o n ed i v i d e t h e o r i g i n a l in t o r e a d i n g u n i t s s h o r t e r t h a n t h o s e i n w h i c h i t a p -p e a r e d i n a b o o k , o r d o e s s u c h p r e s e n t a t i o n v i o l a t e it s i n te g r i ty ? S o m el i te r a r y w o r k s , s u c h a s s o n n e t s e q u e n c e s o r P a s c a l ' sPensees, seem eas i-ly a d a p t e d t o h y p e r m e d i a s in c e t h e y o r i g in a l ly h a v e t h e f o r m o f b r i e fs e c ti o n s , b u t o t h e r w o r k s d o n o t s e e m a d a p t a b l e w i t h o u t v i o l e n c e t o t h eo r ig ina l .

Rule 19. When adapt ing for hypermedia presenta-t ion documents c rea ted accord ing to booktechnology, do not violate the or iginal organiza-t ion . H o w e v e r, w h e n t h e t e x t n a t u r a l l y d i v id e s i n t osec t ions , t he se p ro v id e the bas is o f t ex t b locks . Th eh y p e r m e d i a v e rs io n m u s t c o n t a i n l i nk a g es b e t w e e np r e v i o u s a n d f o l l o w i n g s e c ti o n s t o r e t a i n a s e n se o ft h e o r i g i n a l o rg a n i z a t i o n .

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THE RHE TORIC OF HYPERMEDIA

C O N C L U S I O N

IN F O R M AT I O N T E C H N O L O G Y t h at e m p lo y s e le ct ro n ic all y l in k e db l o c k s o f w o r d s a n d i m a g e s r e q u i r e s r h e t o r i c a l a n d s t y l i s t i c r u l e sd i f f e r e n t f r o m t h o s e f o r o n e e m p l o y i n g p h y s i ca l ly i s o l a te d p a g e s s e t

i n a f i x e d s e q u e n c e . Wi t h i n t e x t b l o c k s , t h e s a m e t r a n s i t i o n a l a n do rg a n i z in g d e v ic e s a p p l y t o h y p e r m e d i a a n d t o b o o k t ex t. W h e n b l o ck so f t e x t li n k e l e c tr o n i c a ll y t o o n e a n o t h e r, h o w e v e r, a n e w r a n g e o f p r o b -l e m s a n d p o s s i b i l i t i e s a p p e a r. A s o u r n o t i o n s o f t h e n a t u r e o f t e x tc h a n g e , s o m u s t o u r m e a n s o f c o m p o s i n g i t .

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

I n t e r m e d i a is t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f t h r e e y e a rs o f i n t e n s e e f f o r t b y al a rg e t e a m o f d e v e l o p e r s a t I R I S l e d b y N o r m a n M e y r o w i t z . I w o u l de s p e c ia l ly l ik e t o t h a n k P a u l K a h n , M a r t y M i c h e l, W i l li a m S . S h i p p ,a n d N i c o l e Ya n k e l o v i c h f o r th e i r h e l p a n d e n c o u rg e m e n t .

T h e w o r k d e s c r i b e d i n t h is p a p e r w a s s p o n s o r e d i n p a r t b y a g r a n tf r o m t h e A n n e n b e r g / C P B P r o j e c t a n d a jo i n t s tu d y - c o n tr a c t w i th I B Ma nd A P P L E .

R E F E R E N C E S

Boiter, J . (1988) . W ri ting space : com pu te r s i n t he h i s to ry o f l i te racy.D r a f t .

C o n k l i n , J. (1987). Hype r t ex t : an i n t roduc t ion and su rvey.I E E E C o m p u t e r ,2 0 (9), 17-41.

E i sens t e in , E. (1979). The p r in t ing p re s s a s an agen t o f soc ia l change : com -m u n i c a t i o n s a n d c u l t u ra l tr a n s f o r m a t i o n s i n e a r ly - m o d e r n E u r o p e(Vols. 1-2).C a m b r i d g e : C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y.

L a n d o w , G . ( 19 8 7 a) .Context32: us ing h ype rm ed ia t o t each l it e ra tu re .I n L . H .Lewis (Ed . ) , P r o ce e d in g s o f t h e 1 9 8 7 I B M A c a d e m i c I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m sU n i v er s it y A E P C o n f e re n c e .M i lf o r d , C o n n . : IB M A c a d e m i c I n f o r m a t io nS y s t e m s , 30-39.

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George P. Landow

La ndo w , G . (1987b) Relationally enco ded links and the rhetoric of hypertext.Hyper tex t ' 87 .Chapel Hill , N. C., 331-44.

Landow, G. (1989a) Hypertext in literary education, criticism, and scholar-ship. Providence R . I. : Institute for Research in Inform ation and Scholarship:Brown University; forthcoming Computers and the Humani t ies .

Landow, G. (1989b) Hypertext and collaborative work: the example of in-termedia. In te l lec tual Teamwork. ed. Robert K rau t and Jolene Galegher.Erlbaum.

McLuhan, M. (1962). The gutenberg galaxy: the making o f typographic man.Toronto: Universi ty of Toronto Press.

Yankelovich, N ., M eyro witz, N. , & van D am , A. (1985). Reading and writingthe electronic book. IEEE Compute r, 18 (10), 15-30.

Yankelovich, N . , Lan dow , G ., & Co dy, D . (1987) Creat ing hypermediamaterials for english literature students. S I G C U E O u t l o o k 1 9 ,12-25.

Yankelovich, N ., H aan , B. Meyrowitz, N . & Drucker, S. (1988). Intermedia:the conc ept and the construction o f a seamless inform ation environment.IEEE Compute r 21 , 81-96.

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

George P. Landow , Professor o f English and Art, Brown University, holds theAB, MA, and PhD from Princeton University and an MA from BrandeisUniversity. Landow, who has written on nineteenth-century literature, art,and religion as well as on educational computing, has taught at Columbia, theUniversity of Chicago, Brasenose College, Oxford, and Brown Universities~

He has been a Fulbright Scholar (1963-4), twice a Guggenheim Fellow (1973,1978), and a Fellow of the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University(1968-9), and he has received numerous grants and awards from National En-dowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Art. He hashelped organize several international loan exhibitions including Fantastic Artand Design in Britain, 1850 to 1930 (1979), and his books include TheAesthetic and Critical Theories o f John Ruskin (1971), Victorian Types, Vic-torian Shadows: Biblical Typology and Victorian Literature, Art, andThought (1980), Approaches to Victorian Autobiography (1979), Images ofCrisis: Literary Iconology, 1750 to the Present (1982), Ruskin (1985), and

Elegant Jeremiahs: The Sage from Carlyle to Mailer (1986). He is currently theeditor of The Continents of Knowledge, an expanion of the Brown

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THE RHETORIC OF HYPERMEDI A

hyp erme d ia m a te ri a ls by con t r ibu to r s f rom severa l dozen ins t itu tions to in -c lude mater ia ls f rom a l l d isc ip l ines . His most recent wr i t ings inc lude d iscus-

s ions o f the rhe to r i c o f hypermed ia ,Context32 and In term edia , h yper tex t ineduca t ion and i ts e ff ec t s on co l l abora t ive wo rk , concep t ions o f tex t s, an dli terary cr i t ic ism.

Landow - The Rhetoric of Hypermedia

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