Course Overview

Introduction to research and scholarship in professional writing and writing in the workplace. Major theoretical perspectives for studying writing; current issues (such as usability, readability, collaboration, gender, authorship); and various research methods.

Technical Communication (TC) is both a practice and a area of scholarship that dates to at least the mid 19th century. To become an effective practitioner of Technical Communication, a person must understand three broad ideas: first, what are the problems that have created this field? That is to say, any academic field or profession is gathered around a problem that needs to be addressed. Second, how have practitioner and scholars articulated, molded, and sought the best way to describe those problems? These are collectively referred to as theories. When confronted with a disruption in practice, practitioners and scholars revert to their theories about the old problem to see if it helps understand the new problem. Finally, how have practitioners and scholars come to make sense of those problems? How practitioners and scholars make sense of a problem is what research is. They are the practices of theories.

While these ideas might seem “academic,” or not “practical,” for the TC practitioner, nothing could be further from the truth. Contemporary workplaces deal with constant socio-cultural, economic, and technological disruption i.e. new problems. These problems must constantly be solved by the working professional not only to do their job well but also to maintain the viability of their career. In this course, you will begin to draw on what others have done to build your own conceptual and practical set of tools to deal with complexity now and in the future. Building these conceptual tools to understand current and new problems is the most valuable part of any degree program because if cultivated creates the most value over time.

Course Texts:

Johnson-Eilola, J., & Selber, S. A. (2013). Solving problems in technical communication. The University of Chicago Press.
Yu, Han, & Jonathan Buehl (Eds.). (2023). Keywords in Technical and Professional Communication. The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/TPC-B.2023.1923
Various articles through Moodle

Course Organization and Scope

This course is a general introduction to the academic field of technical and professional communication. As such, it is organized around baseline expectations of familiarity with the knowledge work of that academic discipline. In other words, if you met another TPC graduate student at a conference or took another class, these questions and keywords would be the common language you would be expected to have a base familiarity with. For example, I am a scholar of user experience and information architecture especially in marginalized communities but I am quite familiar with a variety of different theories of knowledge, critical theories, and genre theory because it is expected of me. Additionally, a mastery of these basic concepts and questions is an essential element of being able to complete your MS degree through 675 Capstone.

Course Organization and Scope

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course you will have produced:

a basic knowledge of the organizing questions and principles of technical and professional communication as an academic field
a basic understanding of what the object of that academic inquiry of TPC is (theory)
a basic understanding of the varieties of how those objects are approached to produce knowledge (methods)
a document that curates a particular object of inquiry in TPC that will support your work in the next two years and, perhaps, your capstone.