Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn: Building Coalitions for Action

by Rebecca Walton, Kristen Moore, Natasha Jones

This is the first scholarly monograph marking the social justice turn in technical and professional communication (TPC). Social justice often draws attention to structural oppression, but to enact social justice as technical communicators, first, we must be able to trace daily practice to the oppressive structures it professionalizes, codifies, and normalizes. Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn moves readers from conceptual explorations of oppression and justice to a theoretical framework that allows for the concepts to be applied and implemented in a variety of practical contexts. It historicizes the recent social justice turn in TPC scholarship, models a social justice approach to building theories and heuristics, and presents scenarios that illustrate how to develop sustainable practices of activism and social justice. Its commitment to coalition building, inclusivity, and socially just practices of citation and activism will support scholars, teachers, and practitioners not only in understanding how the work of technical communication is often complicit in oppression but also in recognizing, revealing, rejecting, and replacing oppressive practices.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. I know the title suggests that this is only appropriate for technical communicators, but it's a great introduction to social justice in general, breaking it down into its most basic elements and explaining how those with little power can build coalitions to make our world more equitable.

[Laura]

Really important book for anyone who teaches professional/technical writing. Also would be of interest to people who write professionally and workplaces in general. Helpful for anti-racist work in many contexts.

[Bill Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 2020 and learned a lot from it. It just won the 2021 CCCC award for best book in technical communication.

[Meghan Custis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normalize counting books for school in your yearly reading total. Very niche topic but enjoyed it

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly recommend that all communicators (technical communications and otherwise) read Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn: Building Coalitions for Action by Rebecca Walton, Kristen Moore, and Natasha Jones. It is an important discussion about the ways the choices we make as communicators are guided by our own positionality, privilege, and world view. This book will be a solid starter for those who have not done further social justice reading without being too basic for those who already have familiarity. It didn't do everything I wanted it to in terms of having an extensive discussion of the practical implications for communicators, but considering I haven't seen anything like this book, it is setting an important foundation for technical communication research and scholarship.

FYI, I am want to note that the writing is less polished than I’d expect in parts, but if you look past that, the information is great.