The reason for this decision is the assumption that web sites designed to inform their readers about political institutions follow goals which are similar to those of images in advertising messages, as described by Roland Barthes: The web site in question here will be that of the European Parliament (EP). This explains the need of an interdisciplinary approach for the study. In other words, without regarding what the web site is dealing with, it would be impossible to speculate about the aims which the authors of the web site pursued. Analysing the effects a web site’s contents and their representation have on the readers implies a demand to consider the contents themselves. In order to deal with such strategies, their context demands consideration.
The rhetorical analysis will turn the focus on the strategies which the designers of the web site employed in order to fulfil goals specifically connected to the web site’s origin and contents. By taking a closer look at an example of such texts – a web site –, the value of applying methods of rhetorical analysis to such a text shall be examined.
The text is based on a linguistic approach: Its concern is to deliver a rhetorical analysis of a new media text (or hypertext). This case study is analysing problems of two scientific disciplines. Transparency and Its Relevance for this Case Studyģ.5.