The Writing and Communication Program’s (WCP) Technical Communication Committee recently organized two panel discussions in order to raise awareness about technical communication on campus. The discussions engaged students in considering the role that technical communication (TC) plays within their professional lives, and, at the same time, showcased TC as an exciting field of scholarly inquiry. The event organizers also promoted the Minor in Technical Communication offered by the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC).

“Technical Communication in the Workplace,” the first WCP-hosted panel discussion, featured perspectives on technical communication from professionals working in three different fields: Computer Science, Business, and Law. Robert Waters, Senior Lecturer in the College of Computing; Arn Rubinoff, Lecturer in Scheller College of Business; and Brian Larson, Assistant Professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, served as panelists.

Together, the panelists defined technical communication in computer science, business, and law; identified written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal communication used in workplace settings; and explored central issues, problems, and solutions in technical communication. Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellows Olga Menagarishvili and Julia Smith posed questions and moderated the discussion. The presentation can be viewed here.

Whereas “Technical Communication in the Workplace” focused largely on practical and professional contexts for TC, the second WCP-hosted panel discussion, “Imagining Futures through Technical Communication,” offered scholarly perspectives on technical communication from areas such as speech technologies, design, and science fiction.

Brittain Fellow Halcyon Lawrence invited the audience to consider how our increasing reliance on voice-mediated computer technologies might signal a future shift toward orality within technical communication. Brittain Fellow Joseph Weakland discussed how computer scientist Mark Weiser used the rhetoric of science fiction in order to help his peers - as well as the general public - understand the possibilities of ubiquitous computing. Carl DiSalvo (Associate Professor, LMC) discussed how practitioners within “speculative design” imagine and construct material artifacts that allow us to interrogate the social, political, and ecological dimensions of our built environment. Brittain Fellow Elizabeth K. Hutter moderated the discussion. The presentation can be viewed here.

The Writing and Communication Program’s (WCP) Technical Communication Committee was pleased with high level of student participation in both events. The Committee plans to organize similar panel discussions on key technical communication topics such as persuasion, usability, and ethics in the 2016-2017 academic year.