"Novelty or Replication: A Pedagogical Foray into the Technical Communication Class"
About the AuthorJosephine Walwema received her MA in Rhetoric and Writing from the University of New Mexico. She is now a doctoral candidate in the Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design Program at Clemson University. Her research interests include the history of rhetoric, rhetorical theory, technology as human capacity, and mechanical technology. Contents |
EthicsWhat do we know about ethics in the classical context? As technical communicators, we are obliged to consider the question of ethics given the design choices we make and their implications. Ethics in the context of technical communication is about "developing good character" and "determining right behavior" (Dragga 162). These two ideals are foundational in Aristotle's and Plato's philosophy on virtue and ethics. They both emphasized the need for individual integrity based on conduct. As teachers, we have to play our role in helping young scholars develop character and integrity by being judicious in their academic work. For example, Scott Sanders argues for communications ethics based on what he sees as the relationship that is obtained between the writer and her document. Thus when the document is entirely template based, to what extent does the writer take credit for it? Ethical concerns in technical communication are rooted in what has been an established tradition that romanticizes the author as "originary" and whose work is the result of single authorship. Thus to simply "pour one's content" in a template understandably blurs some ethical boundaries. It undermines what English programs have always treasured, which is individual creativity and resourcefulness. It doesn't matter that there is a separation of form and content, because in résumés, this split does not even matter. As Sanders argues, "quality as being inherent in a process rather than as a judgment rendered on the finished product, has led to understanding ethics as a function of the character, or ethos, that an individual brings to the collective enterprise" (111). At a functional level, this view is consistent with workplace practice in which candidates are judged on the basis of their résumés as a true reflection of their ethos. Our students can own their résumés if they design them from a place of knowing. It is impossible to attain this standard if they are stifled by templates. Beyond that, we want to know that students can work on their own to find visual design solutions for all technical documents. As instructors of technical communication, we should help our students understand the very basic issue of ethos, which we know as character. Character results from repeated choices one makes and acts on knowingly. Over time, character forms habit, which is necessary as a way for technical communicators to make the right decision when confronted with a moral dilemma. |