Does Clio Have a Place in Technical Writing? Considering Patents in a History of Technical Communication

R. John Brockmann University of Delaware

Abstract

Technical writers need a historical perspective in order to distinguish between enduring and transitory writing standards, to understand the variety of past styles in building future styles, and to give the profession a better sense of self-identity. To overcome the problems in developing a historical perspective, such as a dearth of artifacts to examine and the peculiarities in rhetorical time and place which undercut attempts to generalize on historical information, the 200 year-old federal collection of patents is offered as a solution. This collection of patents is also very often the only remaining written work of the ordinary mechanic of the nineteenth century, and this collection truly reflects technical not legal, business, or science writing.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1988-10-01
DOI
10.2190/cr5w-cqut-0t7f-keu9
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (10)

  1. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Computers and Composition
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 10 →
  1. Written Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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