Information Design

This graduate course was taught in the Spring 2001 term in the MS program at the University of Washington. The students published four anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Information Design

This graduate course was taught in the Winter 2001 term in the evening MS program at the University of Washington. The students published five anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Professional Writing Mentoring

The main objective of this practicum is to encourage your pedagogical, technical, and professional development.

Romberger, Julia and Kate Agena. Purdue University (2003). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Education

Rhetoric and Community Service

In this course, you will extend your critical and rhetorical skills beyond the classroom and the library into the world of community action and service by working or volunteering at least two hours a week at a local nonprofit community service agency or group (dealing, for example, with homeless outreach, adult literacy, tutoring inner-city children, elder care, AIDS support, drug rehabilitation, domestic violence, environmental issues, or civil rights issues). Up to one hour a week on-site may be used to gather information for assignmen

Locker, Kitty O. Ohio State University, The. Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric

Rhetoric and Technical Communication

The Greek word for persuasion derives from the Greek verb 'to believe' Therefore, we can see that rhetoric may be argumentative but also expository (modes of discourse that seek to win acceptance of information or explanation). This understanding is critical for those of us who seek to accommodate technology or science to a user.

Coppola, Nancy W. New Jersey Institute of Technology. Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric

Rhetoric, Privacy, and Persuasion in Cyberspace

This course provides a theoretical and critical overview of communication in cyberspace, such as email, MOOs, Web pages, Usenet newsgroups, e-lists, and other forms of Internet-based communication. Although television and radio have had significant impacts on the rhetorical situations of human discourse, the interactive, simultaneous, global technologies of the Internet are being viewed as an even greater force (some say revolution) in how we communicate with each other. This revolution can be understood from many perspectives, but rhetoric offers a critical lens through which to see the social and cultural implications--particularly the persuasive power and implications for personal privacy-- of this technology. Communication in cyberspace is different from traditional communication in many ways. In rhetorical studies, for example, communication is usually evaluated first by deciding if it is spoken or written and then by considering such communication in terms of the rhetorical canons. Yet online communication blurs the boundaries between oral and written discourse and raises questions about the traditional canons. In addition, interactions in cyberspace raise questions about identity, literacy, gender, community, intellectual property, privacy, commerce, the classroom, and the corporation. An interdisciplinary body of research called Internet Studies has arisen in response to this phenomenon. As a result, this class will analyze Internet discourse using rhetorical and other theory, with an emphasis on the persuasive power of electronic space. We will apply these ways of thinking to discourse taken from the Internet. Students will have an opportunity to publish white papers as part of the Internet Studies Center at the University of Minnesota.

Gurak, Laura J. University of Minnesota (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Special Topics in Technical and Professional Communication:  Grant Writing

Course goals: to prepare you to communicate effectively, ethically, responsibly, and professionally in a workplace environment; to provide you with skills, strategies, and conceptual knowledge to help you address a variety of communication and research tasks related to grant proposal writing; to help you understand the symbiotic relationships among form and content, and audience and purpose; and to give you practice in researching, writing, reviewing, and editing a grant proposal, and to improve your own individual communication and management skills.

Tovey, Janice. East Carolina University (2003). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Studies in Reading Theory and Document Design

This course will cover how reading theory interacts with a rhetoric of graphics to influence the way that documents are designed for maximum effect on the audience.

Zachry, Mark. Utah State University (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric

Teaching Professional Writing--Bridging Theory and Practice

Technical and professional communication is a growing field, and there is a need for teachers and trainers at all levels (e.g., high school, college, and business/corporate settings). My goal is to prepare you to meet that need. In this course, you'll learn about professional writing and develop strategies to be a more effective teacher of writing through a hands-on apprenticeship and classroom practice. You'll be exposed to several classroom settings, and you'll learn to design and test assignments. In addition, we'll talk about ways to connect strategies for teaching professional writing to strategies in related fields such as composition, corporate training, and instructional design. Finally, we will study the recent history of the field to better understand current issues: the essential ones of audience, purpose, and exigency, as well as document design, ethics, the rhetoric of science and technology, and the relationships among technology, corporate culture, and professional communication.

Dubinsky, Jim. Virginia Tech (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Business Communication

Teaching Technical Writing: The Möbius Loop of Theory and Practice

In this course you will build a pedagogical and theoretical foundation for teaching an introductory technical writing course in a community college, university, or industry setting. You will learn by means of extensive readings, writing, collaborative activities, classroom observations, interviews, and conversation ('teacher talk').

Dubinsky, Jim. Virginia Tech (1999). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Technical Writing

Course goals: to prepare you to communicate effectively, ethically, responsibly, and professionally in a business environment; to provide you with skills, strategies, and conceptual knowledge to help you address a variety of communication tasks; to help you understand the symbiotic relationships among form and content, and audience and purpose; and to give you practice in collaborating with other professionals in managing and completing group projects, and to improve your own individual communication and management skills.

Tovey, Janice. East Carolina University (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Technical Writing

Theoretical Approaches to Technical Communication: Ethics

This course will teach students to: * investigate various definitions and philosophies of ethics pertinent to the field of technical communication. * examine the nature and scope of ethical dilemmas in technical communication. * determine possible solutions to the ethical problems encountered by technical communicators. * explain the applicability of theories of ethics to the field of technical communication.

Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (2000). Academic>Courses>Graduate

Theoretical Dimensions of Technical Communication

This graduate course studies theoretical constructs and issues that inform all technical communication. Inherently a multi-disciplinary activity, tech comm draws on theories from fields as different as rhetoric and science, psychology and philosophy, sociology and linguistics. This term we will focus specifically on rhetoric, on the relationships between author, text and reader, and on philosophies of science and language. The purpose of this seminar is to explore relevant theories in sufficient depth and detail to do justice to their complexity, and, at the same time to examine their applicability to technical communication. Students will be expected to comprehend and challenge these theories on their own terms as well as to understand their value for the interpretation and transfer of technical information. Such understanding is crucial to intelligent decisions in professional practice; it allows the technical communicator to look beyond surface issues and see the essential problems and possible solutions. Theoretical knowledge of the field distinguishes the professional from the practitioner.

Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric

Usability Studies and Human Factors

This course focuses on two interrelated subjects of importance to the field of professional communication: human factors and structured user research. Class readings, discussions, and projects will provide you with opportunities to build on your existing knowledge about professional communication and how knowledge about human factors and user research can enhance your work. We will examine strategies for user interfaces in a variety of contexts, including both online and print publications.

Zachry, Mark. Utah State University (2003). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Usability

Visual Rhetoric

This course focuses on articulating rhetorical opportunities present in the visual turn; the role of perceptual processes, time, movement, and memory in the act of seeing; the interanimation of the verbal and the visual in representation; the circumstances of visual culture and art; visual communication in print and on the Web; and identification as a visual/rhetorical process. Is there potential to create critical verbo-visual literacy? The course explores what such definitions of literacy mean for communication, argumentation, persuasion and narration.

Salvo, Michael J. Purdue University (2004). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Visual Rhetoric