Agency and Interactive Data Displays: Internet Graphics as Co-Created Rhetorical Spaces

Abstract

Much has been written about how to evaluate static graphics from the perspective of clarity, ethics, efficiency, and power relations. However, when considering interactive graphics, agency must enter the conversation. This article develops a typology to understand the balance of agency between the designers and users of interactive graphics. The authors use this typology to interrogate 2 contemporary theories of rhetorical agency advanced by Miller and by Herndl and Licona.

keywords:

• agency
• data visualization
• interactive graphic

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jacob D. Rawlins

Jacob D. Rawlins is an assistant professor at the University of Louisville, College of Business. He studies professional communication, rhetorical myth, and data visualizations.

Gregory D. Wilson

Gregory D. Wilson is an assistant professor in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric program at Texas Tech University. He studies innovation: How messy problems become clear ideas and useful technologies.