Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1991

Gender and Modes of Collaboration in a Chemical Engineering Design Course

ELIZABETH A. FLYNN ; GERALD SAVAGE ; MARSHA PENTI ; CAROL BROWN ; SARAH WATKE Michigan Technological University

Abstract

Modes of collaboration are gendered in the sense that they define power relationships among members of a group. In this study, the authors define three collaborative modes: dialogic, asymmetrical, and hierarchical. Dialogic and asymmetrical modes are emancipating and characterized by flexibility, open-ended inquiry, and concern for the growth and development of the individuals involved. Hierarchical modes are oppressive and are characterized by rigidity and suppression of the voices of others in the group. Two collaborative writing groups in a chemical engineering design course exemplify these modes. The first, composed of two women and two men, was primarily dialogic, and the second, composed of two women and three men, exhibited characteristics of all three modes.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1991-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651991005004006
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
collaborative writing gender and writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (12)

  1. Davis (2019)
    Feminist Rhetorical Practices in Digital Spaces
    Computers and Composition
  2. Moeller et al. (2016)
    Food Fights: Cookbook Rhetorics, Monolithic Constructions of Womanhood, and Fie…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Frost (2016)
    Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Friess (2013)
    “Bring the Newbie Into the Fold”: Politeness Strategies of Newcomers and Existi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Thompson (2004)
    Sex Differences in Technical Communication: A Perspective from Social Role Theory
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Ingram et al. (2002)
    The influence of gender on collaborative projects in an engineering classroom
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Thompson (2001)
    Collaboration in technical communication: a qualitative content analysis of jou…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Savage (1999)
    The Process and Prospects for Professionalizing Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Savage (1997)
    Doing Unto Others through Technical Communication Internship Programs
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Rehling (1996)
    Writing Together: Gender's Effect on Collaboration
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Thralls et al. (1993)
    The social perspective and pedagogy in technical communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Bosley (1992)
    Gender and visual communication: toward a feminist theory of design
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (14) · 2 in this index

  1. Allen, Nancy (1987)
    JBTC
  2. Belenky, Mary Field
    Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind
  3. Carter, Ruth
    Women in Engineering: A Good Place to Be?
  4. Chodorow, Nancy
    Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory
  5. Chodorow, Nancy
    The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender
Show all 14 →
  1. Cocks, Joan
    The Oppositional Imagination: Feminism, Critique and Political Theory
  2. Ede, Lisa
    Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing
  3. Flynn, Elizabeth A.
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     ↗
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CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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