Article: Kynell: TC from 1850-1950

Kynell, Teresa. Technical Communication from 1850-1950: Where Have We Been? Technical Communication Quarterly, Spring 1999, Vol. 8, No. 2. (143-151)

Formation of TC pedagogy; evaluation of shifts in engineering curriculum from 1850-1960.

144 1850-62 most engineers mentored or had a sparse training

144 1862 Morrill Acts = land grant colleges = practical education/professional trade

145 Mansfield Merriman, quoted in Kynell, "The only way to learn to write is to write."

146 Circa 1910 educators grasped that engineers needed real-world context to develop their writing and they should focus on the kinds of writing they'll actually face as professionals

146-7 Earle's 4 abilities that would make English more relevant to engineers
ability to: put into words an abstract though; describe, in writing, an object not present; write for different audiences; give a concept a full treatment by demonstrating understanding in writing


This piece and the Connors, and possibly the Carolyn Miller could go on the reading list as histories of TC/TW. If I am going to focus on TC/TW and comp, then I need to be aware of the histories of both. This article does pretty well in laying a foundation/basis, as well as reference points, to locate more specifics about how TC/TW and comp have been regarded as service courses for nearly a century. Thus, the problems we see with the treatment/references to writing and composition are, in fact, apparent manifestations of the modern university.

Flying by the seat of my pants here, but I do believe that once the shift took place in the 1860s or so away from the classical educational roots is also when composition began to lose face. Essentially, with industrialization and the gutting of Rhetoric, composition fell down in status. The application of text, of words, seems to be far less important than the creation or manufacturing of materials.





Interesting referenced articles:
Gerald Savage 1996 "Redefining the Responsibilities of Teachers and the Social Position of the Technical Communicator"

Miller, Carolyn. "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing." College English 40 (1979): 610-17.