Sustainability and Narrative Plasticity in Online Apocalyptic Discourse After September 11, 2001

Abstract

It has been suggested that one avenue for critically assessing online discourses is in their ability to sustain themselves. In this article, I argue that apocalyptic Christian discourse is highly sustainable in the online environment precisely because its argumentative norms are grounded in a profound narrative plasticity. Because the authorizing biblical texts and interpretive narrative that define this discourse exhibit a profound flexibility, new events are immediately assimilated into the narrative structure, making the discourse highly sustainable in the online environment. However, a case study analysis suggests that precisely the same qualities that allow this sustainability also allow this discourse to insulate itself from the necessarily divergent ideas that might generate more constructive public deliberation.