Writing in the Age of Email: The Impact of Ideology versus Technology

Naomi S. Baron

Tracing social change and the evolution of writing the American writing curriculum provides the base for an argument that considers changing ideology as a strong factor in shaping contemporary views about composition and technique in writing. Technology alone, the author argues, is not responsible for what is an increasingly oral approach to written language. Emergent dimensions of email that alter communication access, social interaction and response are examined as contributory factors.

This paper was presented at the Tenth Annual Writing and Computers Conference in September, 1997 at the University of Brighton.