Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2017

The Professional Work of “Unprofessional” Tweets: Microblogging Career Situations in African American Hush Harbors

Douglas M. Walls North Carolina State University

Abstract

This article examines the tactical online rhetorical choices of a young African American professional communicator, Gina. Drawing on situated analysis to show how Gina engaged with her African American Hush Harbor (AAHH) of young professionals online, the author argues that Gina used Twitter to maintain professional network ties in her AAHH community while resisting organizational discourses of surveillance. The author further argues that analyzing particular choices in boundaryless career situations allows us to see important nontask-based professional writing activity.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2017-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651917713195
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism professional writing social media race and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Morris et al. (2024)
    Black Professional Ethos: Exploring Black Mentorship Through Narrative Ethnogra…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Hatcher et al. (2024)
    (Re)situating Professionalism: Using Course Documents As Tactical Tools in the …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. York (2021)
    Digital surveillance in online writing instruction: Panopticism and simulation …
    Computers and Composition
  4. Shelton (2020)
    Shifting Out of Neutral: Centering Difference, Bias, and Social Justice in a Bu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

References (39) · 9 in this index

  1. 10.1002/job.4030150402
     ↗
  2. 10.4135/9781446218327
     ↗
  3. 10.1002/job.290
     ↗
  4. 10.1177/0095798414550864
     ↗
  5. Berkenkotter C. (2003)
    Research in technical communication
Show all 39 →
  1. 10.1080/08838151.2012.732147
     ↗
  2. Byrd A., Tharps L. L. (2014, 4 30). When Black hair is against the rules. New York Times. Retrieved from http…
  3. 10.4135/9781412985833
     ↗
  4. De Certeau M. (1980)
    The practice of everyday life
  5. Edbauer (2005)
    Unframing models of public distribution: From rhetorical situation to rhetorica…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  6. Haas (2012)
    Race, Rhetoric, and Technology: A Case Study of Decolonial Technical Communicat…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176247.001.0001
     ↗
  8. Jablonski (2005)
    Seeing Technical Communication from a Career Perspective: The Implications of C…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Johnson-Eilola J. (2005)
    Datacloud: Toward a new theory of online work
  10. Macon A.-L. F. (2015)
    University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law
  11. Nardi B. A., Whittaker S., Schwarz H. (2000, 5 1). It’s not what you know it’s who you know [text]. Retrieved…
     ↗
  12. Nunley V. (2011)
    Keepin’ it hushed: The barbershop and African American Hush Harbor rhetoric
  13. Pigg (2014)
    Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media's Role in Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. 10.4324/9780203366905
     ↗
  15. Powell M., Levy D., Riley-Mukavetz A., Novotny M., Fisch-Ferguson J. (2014). Our story begins here: Constella…
  16. Randle B. A. (2015)
    Race, Gender & Class
  17. Rosette A. S. (2007)
    Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy
  18. Simmons et al. (2007)
    Toward a Civic Rhetoric for Technologically and Scientifically Complex Places: …
    College Composition and Communication
  19. 10.37514/PER-B.2003.2317.2.01
     ↗
  20. Smitherman G. (1977)
    Talkin and testifyin: The language of Black America
  21. Spellers R. (2003)
    Understanding African American rhetoric: Classical origins to contemporary innovations
  22. Spinuzzi (2005)
    Lost in the Translation: Shifting Claims in the Migration of a Research Technique
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  23. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  24. Spinuzzi (2014)
    How Nonemployer Firms Stage-Manage Ad Hoc Collaboration: An Activity Theory Analysis
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  25. 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2002.tb00278.x
     ↗
  26. Strauss A. (1990)
    Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques
  27. Strauss A. (1999)
    The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research
  28. 10.4018/ijskd.2013100103
     ↗
  29. 10.5810/kentucky/9780813124339.001.0001
     ↗
  30. Walls D. M. (2011). The “human” network: Digital, professional, and cultural access enacted (Doctoral dissert…
  31. Williams et al. (2012)
    Introduction: Race, Ethnicity, and Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  32. Williams M. F. (2014)
    Communicating race, ethnicity, and identity in technical communication
  33. Wilson C. (2009, 9 9). How #uknowurblackwhen became popular on Twitter. Retrieved October 3, 2015, from http:…
  34. Yates J. (1993)
    Control through communication: The rise of system in American management
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  2. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  3. The Peer Review Sep 2021
    Navigating and Adapting Writing Centers through a Pandemic: Justifying Our Work in New Contexts ↗
    Russell Mayo; Russell Mayo; Elise Dixon; Eric Camarillo
    rhetorical criticism cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy two-year college teacher development argument collaborative writing assessment writing centers peer tutoring professional writing digital rhetoric multimodality social media online writing instruction race and writing disability studies editorial matter
  4. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education two-year college teacher development social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing literary studies editorial matter
  5. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter