Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1988

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
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication multilingual writers voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Hallenbeck (2024)
    Decentering the Patent: Opportunities to Reframe American Innovation Rhetorics
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Rife (2007)
    The fair use doctrine: History, application, and implications for (new media) w…
    Computers and Composition
  3. Johnson (2006)
    Prediscursive Technical Communication in the Early American Iron Industry
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Durack (2001)
    Research Opportunities in the US Patent Record
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. HAGGE (1995)
    Early Engineering Writing Textbooks and the Anthropological Complexity of Disci…
    Written Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. RIVERS (1994)
    Studies in the History of Business and Technical Writing
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Rutter (1991)
    History, Rhetoric, and Humanism: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition of Tech…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Hagge (1990)
    The First Technical Writer in English: A Challenge to the Hegemony of Chaucer
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Brockmann (1983)
    Bibliography of Articles on the History of Technical Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Dobrin (1982)
    What's Difficult about Teaching Technical Writing
    College English
  3. Lunsford (1981)
    Essay Writing and Teachers' Responses in Nineteenth-Century Scottish Universities
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2190/NETC11
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/356607
     ↗
  3. 10.2190/NETC8
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network →

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