Technical Communication Quarterly Jun 1992

<i>Challenger</i>and the social contingency of meaning: Two lessons for the technical communication classroom

Paul M. Dombrowski Ohio University

Abstract

In my technical writing class, I examine two “meanings” from the Challenger disaster to illustrate the social contingency of meaning even in science and technology. These instances are the “anomalous” charring of the O‐rings and the reconceptualized assumption of flightworthiness the night before the launch. The social contingency of these meanings shows that the “object” of technical communication is not the material object as a pre‐existent isolate but in its social interpretation, significance, and meaning. Ultimately, technical communication is about people communicating about and to the interests of other people.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
1992-06-01
DOI
10.1080/10572259209359507
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (16)

  1. Pflugfelder (2018)
    Failure Matters: Conflicting Practices in a High-Tech Case
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Weber (2016)
    Stasis in Space! Viewing Definitional Conflicts Surrounding the James Webb Spac…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Williams (2012)
    Reimagining NASA
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Dombrowski (2011)
    Practicing “Safe” Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Ward (2010)
    The Ethic of Exigence
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 16 →
  1. Dombrowski (2006)
    The Two Shuttle Accident Reports: Context and Culture in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Dombrowski (2002)
    Language and Empiricism
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Dombrowski (2001)
    Plastic Language for Plastic Science: The Rhetoric of Comrade Lysenko
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Smith (2000)
    Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Dombrowski (2000)
    Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. SMITH (1997)
    Intertextual Connections to “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing”
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. THOMPSON (1996)
    Competence and Critique in Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  8. Dombrowski (1995)
    Post‐modernism as the resurgence of humanism in technical communication studies
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Henry (1994)
    Toward Technical Authorship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  10. Kynell (1994)
    Considering our Pedagogical past through Textbooks: A Conversation with John M.…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  11. Dombrowski (1994)
    <i>Challenger</i>through the Eyes of Feyerabend
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Winsor (1990)
    The Construction of Knowledge in Organizations: Asking the Right Questions abou…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Zappen (1989)
    The Discourse Community in Scientific and Technical Communication: Institutiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Pace (1988)
    Technical Communication, Group Differentiation, and the Decision to Launch the …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. Burke Kenneth (1966)
    Language as Symbolic Action.
     ↗
  2. 10.1109/47.108666
     ↗
  3. Halloran S. Michael (1978)
    10.1080/10510977809367982
    Central States Speech Journal  ↗
  4. Journet Debra (1990)
    10.1109/TPC.1990.10718329
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.  ↗
  5. 10.2307/375964
     ↗
  6. 10.1109/47.7814
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network →

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