Few in the field of Rhetoric and Writing debate digital literacy's value in higher level institutions today, yet while faculty in general echo this same value, the actual institutionalization of digital literacy--especially in liberal arts institutions--stands in question. This dissertation project, situated in the field of digital rhetoric and positioned theoretically with postmodern constructs, approaches research in digital literacy issues and "institutionalizing" digital literacy. I examine findings using activity theory and genre theory to construct a model of the Operational Life Cycle of the Institutionalization of Digital Literacy. This model of the Operational Life Cycle has several purposes: it visually can enable others to navigate the murky journey of institutionalization; it provides a clear framework for understanding the complexities of institutional work; and it demonstrates the possibility that any size school, even with limited funds, can institutionalize digital literacy. This kind of model illuminates two ideas: One, the power of the centrifugal and centripetal outcomes (genres) of the activities in the Life Cycle, which can perpetuate and speed along such institutionalization. Two, such institutionalization requires the participation of the institution at large, English departments more specifically, and faculty members as individuals. Without such participation, holes in the Life Cycle render institutionalization of digital literacy much more difficult a challenge.
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