THEORIES OF TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL

COMMUNICATION

GENERAL INFORMATION
Course Overview
In this course, we will examine the theories and the theoretical debates that shape our
understanding of professional and technical communication as a field. We will also discuss the
implications such theories have in relation to technical and professional communication
practices. Through the examination of these topics, you should gain an understanding of:
 How theory has shaped and continues to shape the field of technical and professional
communication
 How to participate in and contribute to discussions of theory in the field
This understanding can serve as a foundation you can use to engage members of the field in
discussions of the uses of theory within technical and professional communication.

Learning Outcomes
Through the topics covered in this course, you will gain an understanding of how to:
 Identify theories and theoretical trends affecting past and current practices in technical
and professional communication
 Apply theories to examine how information is transmitted within different contexts and to
different audiences
 Explain the implications of theories for professional practices in technical and
professional communication
 Use various genres to share ideas and perspectives on theory with academics and
practitioners in the field

TEXTBOOKS
Solving Problems in Technical Communication
Edited by Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart Selber
University of Chicago Press, 2013
ISBN-10: 0226924076
ISBN-13: 9780226924076

In addition to the textbook, we will have multiple readings each week that are available as pdfs
on our Canvas website.
THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 2

ASSIGNMENTS
We have three types of assignments in this course: Reading Responses, Discussion Facilitation,
and Major Projects. Complete assignment descriptions are available on Canvas.

Reading Responses
Before class each week, you’ll need to complete a brief reading response. This response is
intended to help you think about the readings and prepare for discussion during class.

For each response, you should:

1) Briefly summarize the conclusions of each source in 1-2 sentences each.
2) Discuss connections between the sources. How does each work connect to the others
for this week? How do they connect to other sources that we’ve discussed in previous
weeks?
3) Create 1 potential discussion question. This should be an open-ended question that
will help us think through the various sources and their connection to broader trends
in professional communication.

You are expected to complete 12 of the 13 reading responses for the semester.

Discussion Facilitation
Each of you will be responsible for directing one class discussion for about 30 minutes. You will
choose one reading from that week to focus on. Please prepare a 1-page handout that contains:
• a brief summary of the reading you wish to discuss (one paragraph)
• two or three quotations from the reading you wish to discuss
• three questions to ground our discussion about the reading
• secondary reading suggestions and synopses. Give us insight into two or three
publications not included in the reading list for this class that build on or are closely
related to your presentation

I recommend meeting with me prior to your presentation to discuss your plans. We’ll also briefly
debrief after your presentation.

Major Projects
During the semester, you’ll be expected to produce at least two projects. You may choose any
two of the following four options for your projects:
 Intercom Article: Intercom is the official magazine of the Society for Technical
Communication (STC), the world’s largest professional society for technical
communicators. (See http://www.stc.org) As a result, Intercom serves as a primary
mechanism through which individuals in industry share trends, information, and ideas
with one another. For this assignment, you will draft an Intercom article in which you
explain how a particular theory or theoretical concept covered in class can be applied
to industry or to teaching practices in the field.
 Commentary Article: You will draft a short, academic essay in which you comment
on and critique the ideas, opinions, or claims of a particular technical and professional
THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 3

communication theory, concept, idea, researcher, or article we have examined this

semester.
 Tutorial: You will draft an interactive exercise (textual or multimodal) that directly
teaches others in the field how to apply a specific theory or theories to address a
particular technical communication situation or problem. Be sure to include
information both on the theory itself and on the means for applying it. I highly
recommend testing your tutorial with realistic users.
 Create your own: Create your own assignment. It will need to apply technical
communication theory in some way and would need to be of interest to either scholars
or practitioners of technical communication. This assignment could include the
production of a multimodal project (using video, interactive features, etc.).

You’ll produce a brief proposal each project. This proposal should provide information about the
theoretical focus, the intended audience, and the selected genre. You will also develop an initial
draft of each project and then revise those drafts based on feedback.

Grading
Course Requirements Number of Points for Total Points Weight
Items Each Available
Reading Responses 12 25 300 30%
Discussion Facilitation 1 100 100 15%
Project Proposals 2 50 100 10%
Project First Drafts 2 50 100 10%
Project Final Drafts 2 200 400 40%
Total 17 N/A 1000 100%
THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 4

COURSE CALENDAR
Week 1 Introduction to the course; Explore the relationship of theory to
Introduction practice; Begin defining technical communication
Week 2 Readings:
Definitions and  SPTC Ch. 1
situating the field  Miller, C. (1979). A humanistic rationale for technical writing.
 Rude, C. (2009). Mapping the research questions in technical
communication.

Due: Reading Response 1

Week 3 Readings:
Histories of technical  SPTC Ch. 7
communication  Connors, R. (1982). The rise of technical writing instruction in
America.
 Sullivan, P. (2012). After the great war: Utility, humanities,
and tracings from a technical writing course in the 1920s.

Due: Reading Response 2

Week 4 Readings:
Rhetorical  SPTC Ch. 5
perspectives  Johnson, R. (1997). Audience involved: Toward a
participatory model of writing
 Johnson-Eilola, J. (1996). Relocating the value of work:
Technical communication in a post-industrial age.

Due:
 Reading Response 3
 Project #1 Proposal
Week 5 Readings:
Genre as an  SPTC Ch. 14
analytical and  Rude, C. (1995). The report for decision making: Genre and
productive tool inquiry.
 Miller, C. (1984). Genre as social action.

Due: Reading Response 4

THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 5

Week 6 Readings:
Creating professional  SPTC Ch. 3
fit within  Wahl, S. (2003). Learning at work: The role of technical
organizations communication in organizational learning.
 Doheny-Farina, S. (1986) Writing an emerging organization:
An ethnographic study.

Due:
 Reading Response 5
 Project #1 First Draft
Week 7 Readings:
Ethics and power in  SPTC Ch. 9
technical  Katz, S. (1992). The ethic of expediency: Classical rhetoric,
communication technology, and the holocaust.
 Ward, M. (2010). The ethic of exigence: Information design,
postmodern ethics, and the holocaust

Due: Reading Response 6

Week 8 Readings:
Feminist Theories of  Flynn, E. A. (1997). Emergent feminist technical
Technical communication.
Communication  Smith, E. O., & Thompson, I. (2002). Feminist theory in
technical communication: Making knowledge claims visible.
 Frost, E. A. (2016). Apparent feminism as a methodology for
technical communication and rhetoric.
Due:
 Reading Response 7
 Project #1 Final Draft
Week 9 Readings:
Technical  Agboka, G. Y. (2014). Decolonial methodologies: Social
Communication and justice perspectives in intercultural technical communication
Social Justice research.
 Jones, N. N., Moore, K. R., & Walton, R. (2016). Disrupting
the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical
Communication.
 Jones, Natasha N. (2016). The technical communicator as
advocate: Integrating a social justice approach in technical
communication.

Due:
 Reading Response 8
 Project #2 Proposal
THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 6

Week 10 Readings:
International  SPTC Ch. 19
Technical  Cardon, P. (2008). A critique of Hall’s contexting model: A
Communication meta-analysis of literature on intercultural business and
technical communication.
 Wang, J. (2010). Convergence in the rhetorical pattern of
directness and indirectness in Chinese and U.S. business
letters.

Due: Reading Response 9

Week 11 Readings:
Visual  SPTC Ch. 16
communication and  Bernhardt, S. (1986). Seeing the text.
design  Moore, P & Fitz, C. (2010). Using gestalt theory to teach
document design and graphics.

Due: Reading Response 10

Week 12 Readings:
Technical  SPTC Ch. 17
communication and  Pigg, S. (2013). Coordinating Constant Invention: Social
new media Media’s Role in Distributed Work.
 Mason, J. (2013). Video games as technical communication
ecology.

Due:
 Reading Response 11
 Project #2 First Draft
Week 13 Readings:
Usability and User  SPTC Ch. 12
Experience (UX)  Redish, G. & Barnum, C. (2011). Overlap, influence,
intertwining: The interplay of UX and technical
communication.
 Simmons, W. M., & Zoetewey, M. W. (2012). Productive
Usability: Fostering Civic Engagement and Creating More
Useful Online Spaces for Public Deliberation.

Due:
 Reading Response 12
THEORIES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION 7

Week 14 Readings:
Technical  SPTC Ch. 13
communication and  Hart-Davidson W., Bernhardt, G., McLeon, M., Rife, M., &
project management Grabill, J. (2007). Coming to content management: Inventing
infrastructure for organizational knowledge work.
 Slatterty, S. (2007). Undistributing work through writing: How
technical writers manage texts in complex information
environments.

Due:
 Reading Response 13
Week 15 Readings:
Professional  Reading Response: SPTC Ch. 4
Development  Katz, S. (1998). Part I—Learning to write in organizations:
What newcomers learn about writing on the job.
 Katz, S. (1998). Part II—Learning to write in organizations:
Resources for guiding newcomers.

Due:
 Project #2 Final Draft