Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2006

Disability Studies, Cultural Analysis, and the Critical Practice of Technical Communication Pedagogy

Jason Palmeri

Abstract

This article critically analyzes how technical communication practices both construct and are constructed by normalizing discourses, which can marginalize the experiences, knowledges, and material needs of people with disabilities. In particular, the article explores how disability studies theories can offer critical insights into research in two areas: safety communication and usability. In conclusion, the article offers ways that disability studies can intervene in the pedagogy of usability, communication technology, linguistic bias, narrative, and discourse communities.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2006-01-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq1501_5
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication disability studies

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (24)

  1. Butler (2026)
    Top Stories and Deaf News: Accessible Information and Communication in …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Palmer (2025)
    Advocacy, Community, and Shared Expertise Make a Screen Reader Available in Hun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Choong et al. (2023)
    The Student-Podcaster as Narrator of Social Change?
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Campeau et al. (2023)
    “It Makes Everything Just Another Story”: A Mixed Methods Study of Medical Stor…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Bennett et al. (2022)
    Transforming the Rights-Based Encounter: Disability Rights, Disability Justice,…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 24 →
  1. Bennett (2022)
    Feature: Critiquing the Normative Discourse Circulated by Two-Year College Writ…
    Teaching English in the Two-Year College
  2. Zdenek (2020)
    Metaphor 3: Transforming: Transforming Access and Inclusion in Composition Stud…
    College English
  3. Clinkenbeard (2020)
    A Posthuman Approach to Agency, Disability, and Technology in Social Interactions
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Bivens et al. (2020)
    The Activist Syllabus as Technical Communication and the Technical Communicator…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Campeau (2019)
    Rethinking Person-Centeredness: Contestations of Disability, Care, and Culture …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Cox (2019)
    Working Closets: Mapping Queer Professional Discourses and Why Professional Com…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Vie (2018)
    Effective Social Media Use in Online Writing Classes through Universal Design f…
    Computers and Composition
  8. Swacha (2018)
    “Bridging the Gap between Food Pantries and the Kitchen Table”: Teaching Embodi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Kenzie et al. (2018)
    Teaching Writing for the Health Professions: Disciplinary Intersections and Ped…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Browning et al. (2017)
    Teaching a “Critical Accessibility Case Study”
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  11. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Walton (2016)
    Supporting Human Dignity and Human Rights
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  13. Boyle et al. (2016)
    A Version of Access
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. Boyle et al. (2015)
    e.pluribus plures: DMAC and its Keywords
    Computers and Composition
  15. Oswal et al. (2014)
    Paying Attention to Accessibility When Designing Online Courses in Technical an…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  16. Youngblood (2013)
    Communicating Web Accessibility to the Novice Developer
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  17. Haas (2012)
    Race, Rhetoric, and Technology
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  18. Andrus (2010)
    A Legal Discourse of Transparency: Discursive Agency and Domestic Violence in t…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. Walters (2010)
    Toward an Accessible Pedagogy: Dis/ability, Multimodality, and Universal Design…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (9)

  1. O'Hara (2004)
    "Curb Cuts" on the Information Highway: Older Adults and the Internet
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Scott (2004)
    Tracking Rapid HIV Testing Through the Cultural Circuit
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Salvo (2001)
    Ethics of Engagement: User-Centered Design and Rhetorical Methodology
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Wilson (2000)
    Making disability visible: How disability studies might transform the medical a…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Longo (1998)
    An approach for applying cultural study theory to technical writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 9 →
  1. Madaus (1997)
    Women's Role in Creating the Field of Health and Safety Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Barclay (1995)
    Ire, envy, irony, and ENFI: Electronic conferences as unreliable narrative
    Computers and Composition
  3. Sauer (1994)
    Sexual dynamics of the profession: Articulating the<i>ecriture masculine</i>of …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. SAUER (1993)
    Sense and Sensibility in Technical Documentation
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 5 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1109/47.968105
     ↗
  2. Herndl C. G. (1993)
    10.2307/358988
    College Composition and Communication  ↗
  3. Mitchell D. T. (2000)
    10.1353/aq.2000.0020
    American Quarterly  ↗
  4. O'Brien, R. (Ed.). (2004). Voices from the edge: Narratives of the Americans with Disabilities Act. New York:…
     ↗
  5. Waddell C. (1990)
    10.1080/00335639009383932
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 58 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document Design ↗
    Leslie Seawright; Amy Hodges; Timothy Ponce
    multimodality technical communication disability studies multilingual writers
  2. Computers and Composition Mar 2026
    Accessibility in virtual reality: A multimodal user experience framework for considering hardware, embodied, and spatial access ↗
    Elizabeth Caravella; Rich Shivener
    multimodality technical communication disability studies
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2025
    Extractive Artificial Intelligence and Its Challenge to Technical Communication ↗
    Collin Bjork
    artificial intelligence technical communication disability studies multilingual writers
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2025
    Constructing Websites with Generative AI Tools: The Accessibility of Their Workflows and Products for Users With Disabilities ↗
    Zsuzsanna B. Palmer; Sushil K. Oswal
    multimodality artificial intelligence technical communication disability studies
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2024
    Toward TPC-UX: UX Topics in TPC Journals 2013–2022 ↗
    Paul Thompson Hunter
    multimodality technical communication professional writing disability studies