Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 1997

Intertextual Connections to “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing”

ELIZABETH OVERMAN SMITH

Abstract

Carolyn Miller's “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing” serves as an example of text that has influenced the knowledge-making activities within technical communication. The 68 references, or intertextual connections, to “Humanistic Rationale” between 1979 and 1995 demonstrate its influence and show the evolution of technical communication and the issues important to technical communication professionals. The authors respond to questions of the purpose of technical communication, the influence of the canons of rhetoric, the importance of audience, and the impact of social constructionism on technical communication. This analysis of the academic prose surrounding “Humanistic Rationale” reveals part of the discipline's discussions and the “communal rationality” (617) that shapes the activities of its members.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1997-04-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651997011002003
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Bourelle et al. (2015)
    Multimodality in the Technical Communication Classroom: Viewing Classical Rheto…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Spigelman et al. (2006)
    Why We Chose Rhetoric
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Abbott et al. (2005)
    How Academics and Practitioners Evaluate Technical Texts
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. EUBANKS (1999)
    Conceptual Metaphor as Rhetorical Response
    Written Communication
  5. Thompson (1999)
    Interpreting Textual Data in Writing Research
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Bushneil (1999)
    A contrary view of the technical writing classroom: Notes toward future discussion
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (29)

  1. HAGGE (1995)
    Early Engineering Writing Textbooks and the Anthropological Complexity of Disci…
    Written Communication
  2. Dombrowski (1995)
    Post‐modernism as the resurgence of humanism in technical communication studies
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Schroll (1995)
    Technology and communication ethics: An evaluative framework
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Scott (1995)
    Sophistic ethics in the technical writing classroom: Teaching<i>nomos,</i>delib…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Westmoreland (1995)
    A semiotic perspective on the technical and professional writing assignment
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 29 →
  1. Gurak et al. (1994)
    Making gender visible: Extending feminist critiques of technology to technical …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. LaDuc et al. (1994)
    The critical eye, the gendered lens, and “situated”; insights—feminist contribu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Martin et al. (1994)
    Ethics, audience, and the writing process: Bringing public policy issues into t…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Dombrowski (1994)
    <i>Challenger</i>through the Eyes of Feyerabend
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Phillips et al. (1993)
    College Composition and Communication: Chronicling a Discipline's Genesis
    College Composition and Communication
  6. Markel (1993)
    Induction, Social Constructionism, and the Form of the Science Paper
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Smith (1992)
    Rhetoric as Social Act: Cicero and the Technical Writing Model
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. Blyler (1992)
    Shared Meaning and Public Relations Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. Dombrowski (1992)
    <i>Challenger</i>and the social contingency of meaning: Two lessons for the tec…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Reynolds (1992)
    Classical rhetoric and the teaching of technical writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Thompson (1992)
    An educational philosophy of technical writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Elliot et al. (1991)
    Technical Writing in a Technological University: Attitudes of Department Chairs
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  13. Rutter (1991)
    History, Rhetoric, and Humanism: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition of Tech…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  14. Allen (1991)
    Thematic Repetition as Rhetorical Technique
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  15. Zappen (1989)
    The Discourse Community in Scientific and Technical Communication: Institutiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  16. Manning (1988)
    Literary vs. Technical Writing: Substitutes vs. Standards for Reality
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  17. Lyon (1988)
    Paideia to Pedantry: The Dissolving Relationship of the Humanities and Society
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  18. Samuels (1985)
    Technical Writing and the Recreation of Reality
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  19. Barton et al. (1984)
    Communication Models for Computer-Mediated Information Systems
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  20. Journet (1984)
    Rhetoric and Sociobiology
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  21. Barton et al. (1983)
    The Nature and Treatment of Professional Engineering Problems—The Technical Wri…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  22. Paul et al. (1983)
    Discovering and Teaching Syntactic Structures in Three Technical Disciplines
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  23. Anderson (1980)
    The Need for Better Research in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  24. Brockmann (1980)
    Taking a Second Look at Technical Communications Pedagogy
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network →

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