Abstract

New information and communication technologies are transforming both the ways in which public discourse is conducted and the tools available for study and analysis of argument. These developments simultaneously present argumentation studies with a challenge and an opportunity. This presentation will focus on the concept of argument fields and consider the ways it can be reworked to reflect the more fluid boundaries of contemporary communication genres; indeed, something like the concept of argument field will be required to understand the social life of arguments in an age of convergent media. The talk will also consider how new information technologies can be applied to better represent the structure and evolution of argument fields, and argue that new tools for statistical analysis of large bodies of discourse provide an interesting new view of the structure and development of arguments.