Writing Through Bureaucracy — Rhetoric & Composition

Written Communication Jan 2015

Writing Through Bureaucracy

Rebecca Lorimer Leonard University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

Contemporary international migration produces a great deal of bureaucratic writing activity. This article reports on a study of one bureaucratic literacy practice—correspondence—of 25 international migrants in the United States. Contextual and practice-based analysis of data collected through literacy history interviews shows that (a) by virtue of living transnational lives, migrant writers develop correspondence practices that seem vernacular, but in fact take on the hegemonic qualities of modern bureaucracy, and (b) when composing everyday correspondence, migrant writers, rather than being subject to bureaucracy’s whims, take up bureaucratic roles that allow them to manage their own and others’ economic and geographic mobility. These findings complicate claims that migrant correspondence simply maintains relationships or fosters cultural cohesion. Migrant writers, while often corresponding to keep in touch with family and friends elsewhere, also adopt the practices of bureaucracy, becoming participants in the management of people on the move.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2015-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088314564145
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality

Citation Context

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