Liminality and Othering: The Issue of Rhetorical Authority in Technical Discourse

Joseph Jeyaraj Baylor University

Abstract

Subject matter experts, under the influence of modernist notions of authorship, often view technical writers as mere grammar and punctuation specialists and marginalize them as their ignorant “other. ” Technical writers, on the other hand, as rhetoricians occupying a liminal space between different disciplines, can understand different disciplinary rhetorics. If subject matter experts, instead of marginalizing technical writers, would view them as liminal subjects who are knowledgeable in different disciplinary rhetorics, then technical writers, through liminal practice, may be able to use their knowledge of audience and rhetoric to improve the quality of documentation.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2004-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651903257958
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly

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