Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 2002

Professional Identities

Brenton Faber Clarkson University

Abstract

Professional communication is a growing component of English departments and other communication programs. Yet, in most cases, the term professional communication is used as a catchall term for various types of workplace and occupational writing. As such, professional communication, as it is currently framed, seems to have little to do with professionals or the process of professionalization. This article calls for a more thorough examination of the concept of professional communication by reviewing (1) the ways in which researchers have used this term to describe the rhetoric of professionals who communicate, (2) the democratic and knowledge-based contradictions between rhetorical scholarship and professional powers, and (3) the current challenges facing professional workers, including deprofessionalization and proletarianization. The author argues that if professional communication research and teaching are to remain prominent parts of academic programs, researchers, theorists, teachers, and students must become more aware of conceptual issues that inform and define professional work.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2002-07-01
DOI
10.1177/105065190201600303
Open Access
Closed
Topics
professional writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (17)

  1. Gelms et al. (2024)
    (Re)defining “Professional” in Technical & Professional Communication
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  2. Hatcher et al. (2024)
    (Re)situating Professionalism: Using Course Documents As Tactical Tools in the …
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  3. Bay et al. (2022)
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  4. Itchuaqiyaq et al. (2022)
    Sex Work and Professional Risk Communication: Keeping Safe on the Streets
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  5. Petersen et al. (2020)
    “Speaking so that We are Heard:” A Zulu Comic Book as Women’s Social Action in …
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Show all 17 →
  1. Cox (2019)
    Working Closets: Mapping Queer Professional Discourses and Why Professional Com…
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  2. Boedy (2017)
    From Deliberation to Responsibility: Ethics, Invention, and Bonhoeffer in Techn…
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  3. St.Amant et al. (2016)
    Addressing the Incommensurable
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  4. Petersen (2014)
    Redefining the Workplace: The Professionalization of Motherhood through Blogging
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Mackiewicz (2010)
    The Co-construction of Credibility in Online Product Reviews
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Harlow (2010)
    The Province of Sophists: An Argument for Academic Homelessness
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Moore (2008)
    Cruel Theory? The Struggle for Prestige and its Consequences in Academic Techni…
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  8. Moore (2006)
    Legitimizing Technical Communication in English Departments: Carolyn Miller's “…
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  9. Spigelman et al. (2006)
    Why We Chose Rhetoric
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  10. Blythe (2004)
    Exploring Uses of IText in Campus-Community Partnerships
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  11. Latterell (2003)
    Technical and Professional Communication Programs and the Small College Setting…
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  12. Faber et al. (2002)
    Using Corporate-Based Methods to Assess Technical Communication Programs
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Cites in this index (21)

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  2. Rentz (2001)
    A Flare from the Margins: The Place of Professional Writing in English Departments
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  3. Zachry (2000)
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 21 →
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    Determining Audience for a Health Sciences Writing Course
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    The Rhetoric of Fraud in Breast Cancer Trials: Manifestations in Medical Journa…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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Also cites 11 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 27 View in citation network →

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