- Author(s): Carl Whithaus
- Publisher(s): University of Pittsburgh Press
- ISBN: 9780822947950
- Published: April 2025
Carl Whithaus, Director and Professor in the University Writing Program, has published a new book that explores the social and rhetorical forces surrounding emerging writing technologies. Swarms, Viral Writing, and the Local examines how digital texts circulate, evolve, and influence public discourse across increasingly networked communities.
Whithaus argues that the dynamics of digital writing operate as patterns of behavior—ways people interact through and with multimodal texts. These behaviors unfold across “networked publics,” where messages are created, shared, reworked, and recirculated, often in rapid and unpredictable ways. By analyzing the production and reception of born‑digital rhetoric, the book traces how online interactions can contribute to outcomes as everyday as a surge of negative restaurant reviews or as consequential as disruptions to democratic processes.
A central theme of Whithaus’s work is the tension between the global and the local. Digital texts may spread widely across media ecosystems, but their impact also depends on local contexts: who shares them, how they are interpreted, and what social dynamics shape their meaning. As these messages move virally through online spaces, their resonance shifts in response to different audiences, technologies, and platforms.
The book documents how these social dynamics intersect with emerging writing and distribution technologies, offering a nuanced look at how digital reading and writing practices continue to evolve. By investigating the interplay of technological change, rhetorical strategy, and public interaction, Whithaus highlights the complexity of contemporary online communication.
Swarms, Viral Writing, and the Local contributes to ongoing conversations about digital rhetoric, public discourse, and the changing landscape of communication in the twenty‑first century. It offers valuable insight for scholars and students interested in writing studies, media studies, and the social dimensions of emerging technologies.
