The Gifting Logos

"E. Johanna Hartelius brings fresh life to those weighty Greek words logos and kairos for our moment of digital perplexity. Language is both a given and a gift, she shows, but its blossoming depends on the fullness of time and the flourishing of the commons. In the beginning was the logos, it is said, but Hartelius shows that it is also at the end, and even more importantly, in the middle, where all the real work gets done."—John Durham Peters, author of The Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media

"In this timely, smart, and sharply argued book, Hartelius investigates the politics of expertise across the digital commons. By merging theoretical, historical, and focused analytical work, Hartelius illuminates what is new about expertise in the digital age. And in showing us a gifting logos, we are given a fresh perspective for thinking anew the value implicit in inventing and circulating digital epistemic material."––Thomas Rickert, author of Ambient Rhetoric: The Attunements of Rhetorical Being

"What are we doing when we 'do' the internet? Hartelius's answer—that we are gifting expertise—offers critical purchase on the emergent digital commons. This carefully argued book contributes to transdisciplinary conversations about epistemic rhetoric and cultural politics under conditions of digitality."—Damien Pfister, author of Networked Media, Networked Rhetorics