For some, the emergence of hypertext signals the realization of the postmodern dissolution of the boundary between writer and reader. Authors of hypertext do write for a reason, and often have something to communicate. But readers of hypertext become users by selecting their way through a hypertext. In doing so, they actually begin to construct for themselves the meaning of a particular hypertext.

"Hypertext does not permit the active reader to change the text produced by another person, but it does narrow the phenomenological distance that separates individual documents from one another in the worlds of print and manuscript. In reducing the autonomy of the text, hypertext reduces the autonomy of the author" (Landow 90).

Allyson Troffer, in describing the control reader-users have over hypertext, observes that "readers move through hypertext by an activity called browsing or navigating, both of which emphasize how readers must actively determine their path through the network. According to Jakob Nielsen (1995), 'true hypertext should . . . make users feel that they can move freely through the information, according to their own needs' (4)."

While this fluidity compromises the apparent autonomy of the author over his or her own text, it actually opens doors for both the author and user of hypertext. For the author, hypertext makes it possible to tailor a text to multiple users and possibly reach a more multi-vocal audience. For the user, this fluidity creates opportunities to participate in the construction of the meaning of a (hyper)text.

For the composition instructor, texts that invite readers to adopt an active approach are particularly valuable in the classroom. Hypertexts can perform just this role. And unlike their initial approach to most print texts, students tend to approach hypertexts as active users.

Copyright © Enculturation 2002

Navigate Enculturation:
Home | Contents 4:2 | Editors | Issues
About | Submissions | Subscribe | Copyright | Review | Links