Technology studies and technical communication: substantive rhetoric revisited

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dc.contributor.committeeChairRice, Rich
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCarter, Joyce L.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKemp, Fred
dc.creatorGarrison, Kevin G.
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-14T23:09:52Z
dc.date.available2011-02-18T23:59:49Z
dc.date.available2016-11-14T23:09:52Z
dc.date.issued2009-05
dc.degree.departmentEnglishen_US
dc.description.abstractTechnical communication scholars often study and contribute to studies of technology. By understanding the process of technological progression, a communicator may be placed in a position to actively participate in questions about technology in order to “check its dark side" (Bunge 181). This dissertation argues that the symbiotic relationship between technical communication and technology studies is questionable considering that the current “constructivist†paradigm of technology studies often misinterprets the critiques of important authors of technology, such as Jacques Ellul and Neil Postman. These authors have consistently been placed into a paradigm that a close reading of their ideas doesn’t warrant. Because many studies of technology do not have a “meaningful theory of technology†(Winner, “Social†242) that maximizes human autonomy, this dissertation questions the “rhetorical†theories of communicators who connect their writing pedagogy and theories to the logics of Andrew Feenberg and other technology “constructivists.†The end goal of this dissertation is to flesh out this element of technical communication scholarship.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2346/20896en_US
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherTexas Tech Universityen_US
dc.rights.availabilityUnrestricted.
dc.subjectTechnologyen_US
dc.subjectEllul, Jacquesen_US
dc.subjectFeenberg, Andrewen_US
dc.titleTechnology studies and technical communication: substantive rhetoric revisited
dc.typeDissertation

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