Building Relationships

Dawn Shepherd is assistant professor of English and associate director of the first-year writing program at Boise State University.

• Chapter One: Romantic Matchmaking and the Marriage ApparatusChapter Two: Procedural Rhetorical Analysis of Three Online Dating SitesChapter Three: Online Dating and the Construction of SubjectsChapter Four: Online Dating, Biopower, and Discourses of SuccessChapter Five: Online Dating, Marriage, and Family in Control SocietiesChapter Six: Postscript on Technologies of Matching

[The] main originality of this book is in applying procedural rhetoric to the study of matching sites. In fact, as they become more popular and more accessible, the complex procedures of these sites, which include symbolic values and unequivocal implications of what a good match may be, are certainly influencing newer generations' understanding of their relationships. In turn, daily practices and expressions of dating, sexuality, marriage, same-sex relationships, friendships, and even family, are impacted by these transformations.