Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1995

Workplace Ghostwriting

JIM HENRY ; “GE ORGE” George Mason University

Abstract

An MA student in professional writing and editing undertook ethnographic research on ghostwriting in the military headquarters where he has worked as a civilian writer for 18 years. He investigated the ways in which the military's review process (or “chop chain”) influences writer psychology and the final written product. His findings shed light on writer psychology and on bureaucratese as a cultural discursive product and lead him to propose changes in local writing and reviewing practices. To suggest innovations in teaching and curriculum, this article traces the MA student's academic authorship as he drew on the disciplines of ethnography, folklore, social psychology, and composition and as he used cultural theory from Foucault and textual theory from narratology.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1995-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651995009004002
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research professional writing race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Bruss (2011)
    Ghosting Authenticity: Characterization in Corporate Speechwriting
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Henry (1994)
    Toward Technical Authorship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (7)

  1. SULLIVAN et al. (1993)
    Remapping Curricular Geography
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. WINSOR (1993)
    Owning Corporate Texts
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. SLACK et al. (1993)
    The Technical Communicator as Author
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Goodwin (1991)
    Emplotting the Reader: Motivation and Technical Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. BRODKEY (1987)
    Writing Ethnographic Narratives
    Written Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. DOHENY-FARINA (1986)
    Writing in an Emerging Organization
    Written Communication
  2. Gibson (1950)
    Authors, Speakers, Readers, and Mock Readers
    College English
Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/378487
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/358988
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/378107
     ↗
  4. 10.1037/0003-066X.45.2.109
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network →

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