ETHICS OF ACTIVIST DESIGN:

DESIGNING A TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION PEDAGOGY GROUNDED IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVISM

Liz Lane, PhD Candidaate, Purdue University
lane34@purdue.edu

INTRODUCTION & GOALS

DESIGN QUESTIONS

How can a technical writing approach to

language and audience work alongside
civic engagement initiatives?

How can technical writing impact the

communities we live in for the better?

How can pedagogical best practices tie

design principles, activism, and community

engagement to technical writing
curriculum?

How can students use their technical

writing toward action & involvement?

PROMOTING PARENTAL LEAVE IN

GREATER LAFAYETTE, IN

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Require students to research, analyze, and

Social media case study: Discussion of parental in

different European countries, role/ support of govt

synthesize case studies on the usage of

social media centered on a civic
engagement issue.

Timeline of Movement: Progression of U.S. FMLA

act in 1993, EU legislation, & global conversation
about parental leave progress.

Challenge students to confront myriad

audiences beyond the workplace &
academy.

Topic Proposal: Increasing & promoting paid

parental leave at the 2 largest employers in the
Greater Lafayette, IN area (Purdue University, Alcoa)

Assess students plans for applying their

plans to their chosen audience and
context.

Engagement Plan: Create social media pages

informing local employees about the lack of
parental leave support at large employers; work
alongside unions to share information through
networks; inspire local corporate policy change

Define civic engagement and technical

communications role within it

PILOT ASSIGNMENT DESIGN

PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS
Focus

Scholarly Text / Methodological Framing

Shifting disciplinary identities of

Professional writing

Sullivan, P. A., & Porter, J. E. (1993). Remapping curricular geography

professional writing in/and English. Journal of Business and Technical
Communication, 7(4), 389-422.

Social media in technical

communication curriculum as key
to students lives
Networked literacy as curricular
focus; glocalization

Verzosa Hurley, E., & Kimme Hea, A. C. (2014). The rhetoric of reach: Preparing
students for technical communication in the age of social media. Technical
Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 55-68.
Rice, R., & Hausrath, Z. (2014). The Necessity of Teaching Intercultural
Communication Competence in Literacy Classes. Journal of College Literacy and
Learning. Vol, 40, 19.

Minor Project: Social Media Case

studies

Major Project: Civic Engagement

Business Plan & Presentation

1. Individual students chose a social justice

1. Collaborative project. Students explored

movement and wrote a topic proposal

memo;

2. Developed a timeline of its span, public

response, and analyzed the language of
the movement.

3. Students produced a 3-5 page white

paper of case study findings.

the needs of a community in regards to

raising awareness about a chosen issue.

2. Included research about topic, study of

social media statistics, audience analysis

3. Produced final civic engagement plan,

oral presentation pitched toward imagined

partner.

THE ASSIGNMENT: A larger unit broken into a major & minor assignments to prepare

students for research, analysis, document design, engagement development and

oral presentations.

* Images and quotes from student projects used with permission

MATERIALS

STUDENT PROJECTS

Above: Students research data of two large Greater Lafayette area

employers parental leave polocies

The push for paid parental leave starts with

Lafayettes largest employerssome of which are
unionized. This has the benefit of creating more
avenues for the support of our ideas
- Charlie, former student

RAISING AWARENESS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE USING SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media case study: The NFLs handling of player domestic
violence charges (i.e. Players Ray Rice and Greg Hardys charges/
publicity, the #NoMore movement, public responses & protests)
Timeline of Movement: Researched & analyzed the language of press
releases and social media posts made by the NFL, media outlets, and
tracked fans reactions to the players & NFLs responses.
Topic Proposal: Involve local collegiate athletes in an anti-domestic
violence initiative to raise awareness of the issue; engage high school
athletes in educational programs about preventing domestic violence
and sexual assault in the athletic
world; .
Engagement Plan: Involve Big 10 football players in antidomestic violence social media campaign with the hashtag:
#ItsOnUs. Create a partnership between state high school
sports associations and promote educational workshops
through fliers and a social media campaign.

A call to action in this community could truly enhance

the college experience for many.

Now is the time to change our own communities for the
better, that way we can change our larger
communities.- Anastasia, former student

COURSE READINGS

Selected essays from DIY Citizenship: Critical

Making & Social Media (2014)

Bowdon, M. A. (2014). Tweeting an ethos:

Emergency messaging, social media, and

teaching technical communication. Technical
Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 35-54.

Kimme Hea, A. C. (2014). Social media in

technical communication. Technical
Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 1-5.

BEST PRACTICES
Project Reflections & Mapping Activities
Audience Analysis: Students Identify the
Communitys Strengths

Shape Engagement Plans & Design Toward

Community

Prioritize Accessible & Replicable Plans

IMPORTANCE TO TECHNICAL
COMMUNNICATION

Bridges community engagement scholarship

with technical communication pedagogy

Challenges students to consider local &

global concerns, and how technical writing

influences these concerns for various
audiences

Extends identity of technical communicaiton

pedagogy to glocalization & communities

REFERENCES
1.

Grabill, J. T., & Hicks, T. (2005). Multiliteracies meet methods: The case for
digital writing in English education. English Education, 37(4), 301-311.

2.

Shea, A. (2012). Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based

Graphic Design. Princeton Architectural Press. Tavel, P. 2007. Modeling and
Simulation Design. AK Peters Ltd., Natick, MA.

3.

Rice, R., & Hausrath, Z. (2014). The Necessity of Teaching Intercultural

Communication Competence in Literacy Classes. Journal of College Literacy
and Learning Vol, 40, 19.

4.

Starke-Meyerring, D., Duin, A. H., & Palvetzian, T. (2007). Global

partnerships: Positioning technical communication programs in the
context of globalization. Technical Communication Quarterly, 16(2), 139-174

5.

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