Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 2022

Transforming the Rights-Based Encounter: Disability Rights, Disability Justice, and the Ethics of Access

Kristin C. Bennett Arizona State University ; Mark A. Hannah Arizona State University

Abstract

Technical and professional communication (TPC) has recently turned to social justice to interrogate seemingly neutral documents’ impacts on marginalized populations, including disabled individuals. In workplace contexts, such efforts are often impeded by rights-based discourse that maintains ableist institutional spaces and impedes efforts toward broader institutional change. Recognizing that TPC practitioners likely will encounter rights-based discourse, this article offers an ethical decision-making framework that couples the field's previous disability studies work with disability justice. We offer guidelines and a critical vocabulary for bridging legal rights and social justice concerns to inspire ethical articulations of disability access needed for transformative change.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2022-07-01
DOI
10.1177/10506519221087960
Open Access
Closed
Topics
professional writing disability studies

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Seawright et al. (2026)
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Gray (2026)
    The Utility of Inclusivity: How Emoji Proposal Writers Navigate Oppositional In…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Butler (2026)
    Top Stories and Deaf News: Accessible Information and Communication in …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Schreiber (2025)
    Inclusive and Accessible Technical Editing in the Classroom and Workplace
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Bennett (2025)
    Ableist Archives: Challenging Technoableism in Workplace Mental Health Applicat…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 6 →
  1. Bennett (2024)
    (Dis)ability Deconditioning: Challenging Ableist Articulations of Professionali…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (8)

  1. Browning et al. (2017)
    Teaching a “Critical Accessibility Case Study”
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Jones (2016)
    The Technical Communicator as Advocate
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Youngblood (2013)
    Communicating Web Accessibility to the Novice Developer
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Hannah (2010)
    Legal Literacy: Coproducing the Law in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 8 →
  1. Walters (2010)
    Toward an Accessible Pedagogy: Dis/ability, Multimodality, and Universal Design…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Palmeri (2006)
    Disability Studies, Cultural Analysis, and the Critical Practice of Technical C…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Salvo (2001)
    Ethics of Engagement: User-Centered Design and Rhetorical Methodology
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Also cites 17 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 22 View in citation network →

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