Rhetorical Theory to Practice
Oftentimes, when we hear “theory,” we think of obscure or unhelpful approaches. That is, we consider theory to be disconnected from the practices we do every day. For technical and professional communication, we use the definition of theory to mean a set of principles that guides practice by accounting for and justifying the approach to that practice. In other words, in PPW, theory helps you do the work of communicating in the workplace. Scholars and practitioners have generated many theories that with study could all be appropriate for any number of circum- stances in which you need to communicate in the workplace and in your civic life.
For example, actor network theory (ANT) posits that human and non-human actors play equally important roles in the process of knowledge creation. ANT has been used a lot in Public and Professional Writing (PPW) and in fields such as science and engineering because it helps to account for technologies and tools that are central to knowledge creation. Other theories such as Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication that was premised on a sender and receiver with considerations of “noise” that may affect the message. For this course, however, we are using rhetoric as our theory of choice to help you understand how to approach writing and communication in the workplace.
What do a bunch of dead dudes from the fourth century B.C.E. have to do with professional communication in the age of the internet, 3D printers, and electric cars? It’s a reasonable question and understanding that the most vital “problems that matter” are often “wicked” ones, emerging from “disagreement” and “social complexity,” and marked by “confusion, discord, and lack of progress,” alerts us all to (at least) two realities, this course asks you to engage with rhetorical theory through writing. We all know writing is hard, but we commit to writing well because of the vital work it does in the world in helping humans preserve and extend our ability to come together. As theorist Anne Beaufort writes, “[w]hat writing expertise is ultimately concerned with is becoming engaged in a particular community of writers who dialogue across texts, argue, and build on each other’s work” (18).
Writing courses for first-year students are designed to strengthen and refine the academic moves of writers long accustomed to “the essay”: enter a conversation, create a strong thesis, design a logical structure, incorporate reliable sources, document scrupulously.
This course builds on but moves beyond classroom writing, offering students opportunities to practice with a wider array of ideas, genres, and audiences. As its name suggests, Professional and Public Writing (PPW) promises even deeper experiences with writing effectively on behalf of professional audiences (clients, investors, supervisors, colleagues) and public ones (citizens, taxpayers, policy makers, non-profits). While honoring all the many types of disciplinary, technical and professional expertise that contribute to engaging with problems that matter, writers know that without thoughtfully researched, well-designed texts and writing that can speak to the hearts and minds of many different people, many of those problems will remain intractably wicked. We hope you enter this course with a spirit of exploration and read the next sections carefully which include rhetorical components such as purpose, audience, context, design and rhetorical situation.
Works Cited in This Section
Beaufort, A. (2008). College writing and beyond: A new framework for university writing instruction. University Press of Colorado..
Camillus, J. C. (2008). Strategy as a wicked problem. Harvard business review, 86(5), 98
Kuypers, J. A. (2010). Framing analysis from a rhetorical perspective. In Doing news framing analysis (pp. 302-327). Routledge.
