Two-dimensional sociorhetorical organization of digital genre homepage in online course disciplines

Abstract

In this work, we analyze the sociorhetorical organization of homepages in online disciplines within a two-dimensional perspective on genre analysis (ASKEHAVE; NIELSEN, 2004). In Crescitelli and Campos (2015), we analyzed homepages of a distance undergraduate course based on Swales (1990), examining their sociorhetorical organization and the steps and rhetorical moves that constituted them. Now, we examine the same homepages in a twodimensional perspective, in order to investigate, in the reading and navigating modes, the communicative purposes and the functional units (rhetorical moves and links) and the rhetorical strategies employed to fulfil them. As for the links, we draw on Adam’s (1992) textual sequence theory and examine the predominant sequences in the articulation of hypertextual lexies. We focus on studies of genre as social action (MILLER, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c; BAZERMAN, 2006, 2009a, 2009b; SWALES, 1990; BHATIA, 1993), digital textual genre (MARCUSCHI, 2010; ASKEHAVE, NIELSEN, 2004), and hypertext (LEMKE, 2002; FINNEMANN, 1999). It is a case study based on the observation and description of a phenomenon in a specific context (MARTINS, 2008; YIN, 2005, 1984; TRIVIÑOS, 1987). The results show that knowing the sociorhetorical organization in the homepage genre enables the organization of the pedagogical content targeted at the interests and needs of users, contributing to students’ involvement with the educational process.