Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2015

Locating the Semiotic Power of Writing in Science

Chad Wickman Auburn University

Abstract

This article explores how a doctoral student in theoretical physics constructs computational simulations and reports his work within the constraints of an academic dissertation. The author specifically identifies principal elements of the work ensemble that the student deployed to complete different tasks and analyzes two dissertation chapters in order to examine the semiotic resources that the student used to warrant the outcomes of his research. The study finds that these are not instrumental procedures in which the researcher represents material objects in a mimetic sense; they are epistemic practices through which he generates digital objects that do not have an experimental counterpart and must therefore be justified through references to technical production. Based on these findings, the author argues that theorizing writing as coextensive with the practical work of science demonstrates what makes it powerful as a semiotic resource and constructive rhetorical activity.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2015-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651914548276
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Doody et al. (2022)
    “Everything Is in the Lab Book”: Multimodal Writing, Activity, and Genre Analys…
    Written Communication
  2. Reid (2019)
    Compressing, Expanding, and Attending to Scientific Meaning: Writing the Semiot…
    Written Communication
  3. Koerber et al. (2017)
    Theorizing the Value of English Proficiency in Cross-Cultural Rhetorics of Heal…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (16)

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    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Wickman (2010)
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    Written Communication
  3. Bazerman (2008)
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    Written Communication
  4. Artemeva (2008)
    Toward a Unified Social Theory of Genre Learning
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Bezemer et al. (2008)
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    Written Communication
Show all 16 →
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    Written Communication
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  3. Prior (2005)
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    Computers and Composition
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    Tasks, Ensembles, and Activity
    Written Communication
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    Written Communication
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    Genre and Activity Systems
    Written Communication
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    Written Communication
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    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
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CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →

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