Communicating Race, Ethnicity and Identity in Technical Communication

The purpose of this book is to move our field's discussion beyond issues of diversity in the practice of technical communication, which is certainly important, to include discussions of how race and ethnicity inform the production and distribution of technical communication in the United States. Equally important, this book is an attempt to uncover those communicative practices used to adversely affect historically marginalized groups and identify new practices that can be used to encourage cultural competence within institutions and communities. This book, like our field, is an interdisciplinary effort. While all authors have taught or practiced technical communication, their backgrounds include studies in technical communication, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, and higher education. For the sake of clarity, the book is organized into five sections: historical representations of race and ethnicity in health and science communication; social justice and activism in technical communication; considerations of race and ethnicity in social media; users' right to their own language; and communicating identity across borders, cultures, and disciplines.Intended Audience: Graduate students, professors, and practitioners in technical communication, rhetoric and composition, and other areas of English studies.

Miriam F. Williams is an associate professor of English and director of the Master of Arts in Technical Communication Program at Texas State University. Prior to her career in academia, she worked for regulatory agencies as a program administrator, policy editor, policy analyst, and inspector. Her research interests include public policy writing, ethics in technical communication, and intercultural technical communication. Her first book, Writing for the Government, was published in the Allyn and Bacon Technical Communication Series (October 2007). Her second book, From Black Codes to Recodification: Removing the Veil from Regulatory Writing, was published in Baywood's Technical Communication Series (2010). She also co-edited a special issue of Journal of Business and Technical Communication on Race, Ethnicity, and Technical Communication: Examining Multicultural Issues within the United States (July 2012).Octavio Pimentel is an associate professor of English at Texas State University. He has taught various classes in composition, including first-year composition courses, advanced composition, technical writing, and various critical graduate courses that encompass issues of minority languages, rhetorics, and writing. Critically trained in rhetoric/writing and education, Pimentel combines both fields, while addressing critical issues of minoritized individuals in the composition field. He has published scholarly articles in a variety of journals, including, among others, Reflections: A Journal of Writing, Community and Literacy Service; Journal of Latinos in Education; and Journal of Business and Technical Communication (finalist for NCTE's 2009 article of the year in technical communication). He also co-edited a special issue of Journal of Business and Technical Communication on Race, Ethnicity, and Technical Communication: Examining Multicultural Issues within the United States (2012).