Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Apodictic defined
Reading Eco, I learned the word apodictic. Here is Wikipedia's defintion:
"Apodictic" or "apodeictic" (Ancient Greek: "αποδεικτικος," "capable of demonstration") is an adjectival expression from Aristotelean logic that refers to propositions that are demonstrable, that are necessarily or self-evidently the case or that, conversely, are impossible.[1] Apodicticity is the corresponding abstract noun, referring to logical certainty.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Aristotle: Rhetoric: Bk 1: notes
I am reading Book 12 right now. I read several books earlier today, and there is just so much breaking down and classification. Lots of dualities, lots of mirroring, and a great deal of naming. "Pleasure expresses itself in five ways," or some such thing.
I do not know how to respond. In some ways, it feels contrived and artificial. But I think that is the jaded contemporary view. In another perspective, it seems ultimately sensible that you would want to sit down and describe the nature of your reality and your polis' reality to the best of your ability. And that means a lot of line drawing and classification.
Stylistically, such an approach feels really rather dry.
Content wise, I feel very, very heavy. This is such a dense collection of culturally important themes, that virtually any paragraph could be set aside and considered for the ramifications and echoing it has had for the past 2,500 years or so. Incredible stuff. And yet, at the very same time, some of these very same things seem ultimately basic, simple, and Homer Simpson "Doh!"
I feel very engaged with the material, but I am not exactly sure what that means. I also fool viscerally far more engaged than I have with other materials, and I do not know what that means, either. This content, thus far, is throwing up a lot of unknowns for me.
Kegan's lecture/discussions mention shame vs. guilt in classical Greek society. That fascinates me. I hope there's more in our assigned readings.
Book 13, at the start
Is natural law the same as the Truth? Can you make particular laws in accord with natural law? What constitutes "proof" of a natural law? Natural law just has too many echoes in my mind of fundamentalists seeking power in government as an expression of their natural rights (read: this applies to all Abrahamic religions as well as to non-Abrahamic religions as well).
1374a
I really like this quote, and I like that it is levered on the fulcrum of intention. But how does one prove intention? How do you find out what was going on in someone's brain--especially if they never discussed or recorded anything about the act? And what if you hurt someone or kill someone in a rage? The conscious, thinking intention was probably not there--it was probably visceral, animalistic anger. Can that be regarded as methodical or calculated intention?
It is almost like the very nature of intention empowers actions and, at the same time, makes it almost impossible to determine.
End of Book 13
A whole lot on Equity:
Equity bids us be merciful to the weakness of human nature; to think less about the laws than about the man who framed them, and less about what he said than about what he meant; not to consider the actions of the accused so much as his intentions, nor this or that detail so much as the whole story; to ask not what a man is now but what he has always or usually been. It bids us remember benefits rather than injuries, and benefits received rather than benefits conferred; to be patient when we are wronged; to settle a dispute by negotiation and not by force; to prefer arbitration to litigation -- for an arbitrator goes by the equity of a case, a judge by the strict law, and arbitration was invented with the express purpose of securing full power for equity.
This seems like a lot more about intention and compassion.
I do not know how to respond. In some ways, it feels contrived and artificial. But I think that is the jaded contemporary view. In another perspective, it seems ultimately sensible that you would want to sit down and describe the nature of your reality and your polis' reality to the best of your ability. And that means a lot of line drawing and classification.
Stylistically, such an approach feels really rather dry.
Content wise, I feel very, very heavy. This is such a dense collection of culturally important themes, that virtually any paragraph could be set aside and considered for the ramifications and echoing it has had for the past 2,500 years or so. Incredible stuff. And yet, at the very same time, some of these very same things seem ultimately basic, simple, and Homer Simpson "Doh!"
I feel very engaged with the material, but I am not exactly sure what that means. I also fool viscerally far more engaged than I have with other materials, and I do not know what that means, either. This content, thus far, is throwing up a lot of unknowns for me.
Kegan's lecture/discussions mention shame vs. guilt in classical Greek society. That fascinates me. I hope there's more in our assigned readings.
Book 13, at the start
Particular law is that which each community lays down and applies to its own members: this is partly written and partly unwritten. Universal law is the law of Nature.
Is natural law the same as the Truth? Can you make particular laws in accord with natural law? What constitutes "proof" of a natural law? Natural law just has too many echoes in my mind of fundamentalists seeking power in government as an expression of their natural rights (read: this applies to all Abrahamic religions as well as to non-Abrahamic religions as well).
1374a
It is deliberate purpose that constitutes wickedness and criminal guilt, and such names as "outrage" or "theft" imply deliberate purpose as well as the mere action.
I really like this quote, and I like that it is levered on the fulcrum of intention. But how does one prove intention? How do you find out what was going on in someone's brain--especially if they never discussed or recorded anything about the act? And what if you hurt someone or kill someone in a rage? The conscious, thinking intention was probably not there--it was probably visceral, animalistic anger. Can that be regarded as methodical or calculated intention?
It is almost like the very nature of intention empowers actions and, at the same time, makes it almost impossible to determine.
End of Book 13
A whole lot on Equity:
Equity bids us be merciful to the weakness of human nature; to think less about the laws than about the man who framed them, and less about what he said than about what he meant; not to consider the actions of the accused so much as his intentions, nor this or that detail so much as the whole story; to ask not what a man is now but what he has always or usually been. It bids us remember benefits rather than injuries, and benefits received rather than benefits conferred; to be patient when we are wronged; to settle a dispute by negotiation and not by force; to prefer arbitration to litigation -- for an arbitrator goes by the equity of a case, a judge by the strict law, and arbitration was invented with the express purpose of securing full power for equity.
This seems like a lot more about intention and compassion.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Article: Staples: TC from 1950-1998
Staples, Katherine. Technical Communication from 1950-1998: Where Are We Now? Technical Communication Quarterly. Spring 1999, Vol. 8, No. 2 (153-64)
TW is mature as a discipline, is linked to workplaces and academia via pedagogy and research. However, maturity means moving away from TW's history and role as a service course.
154 GI Bill of 1944 swamped colleges with new kinds of students
154 popularity of engineering programs= popularity/need for TC/TW courses
155 TC instruction considered graphic as well as verbal presentations by end of 50s
155 TC largely taught by adjuncts/untenured in English & engineering depts.
156 by early 1970s, ten academic programs in TC/TW started
157 TC credentials/education regarded as a career advantage in 1984
157 key to professional identity was the foundation of professional journals in the 70s
158 schism in the profession in the 80s with growth: old-school, post-war men learned mostly by practice vs. new guard w/PhDs, capable in Rhet, and women
159 "Like Harris, Miller argues that praxis, applied craft, and techne, reflective art, can usefully support one another in technical communication."
161 TC/TW origins: teaching & a long relationship with applied technologies and with the workplace
161 the value of scholarship on teaching/theory is questioned by workplace/pragmatic advocates
Interesting articles referenced:
Fox on composition studies?
Kynell, Teresa Writing in a Milieu of Utility
Miller, Carolyn "What's practical about Technical Writing" 1989
apparently the article has important references about TW pedagogy and keeping critical awareness about when working with industry
Redish & Judith Ramey 1993 study about value added to tech products by communicators
"Special Section: Measuring the value added by professional technical communicators. TC 42 (1995): 23-29
TW is mature as a discipline, is linked to workplaces and academia via pedagogy and research. However, maturity means moving away from TW's history and role as a service course.
154 GI Bill of 1944 swamped colleges with new kinds of students
154 popularity of engineering programs= popularity/need for TC/TW courses
155 TC instruction considered graphic as well as verbal presentations by end of 50s
155 TC largely taught by adjuncts/untenured in English & engineering depts.
156 by early 1970s, ten academic programs in TC/TW started
157 TC credentials/education regarded as a career advantage in 1984
157 key to professional identity was the foundation of professional journals in the 70s
158 schism in the profession in the 80s with growth: old-school, post-war men learned mostly by practice vs. new guard w/PhDs, capable in Rhet, and women
159 "Like Harris, Miller argues that praxis, applied craft, and techne, reflective art, can usefully support one another in technical communication."
161 TC/TW origins: teaching & a long relationship with applied technologies and with the workplace
161 the value of scholarship on teaching/theory is questioned by workplace/pragmatic advocates
Interesting articles referenced:
Fox on composition studies?
Kynell, Teresa Writing in a Milieu of Utility
Miller, Carolyn "What's practical about Technical Writing" 1989
apparently the article has important references about TW pedagogy and keeping critical awareness about when working with industry
Redish & Judith Ramey 1993 study about value added to tech products by communicators
"Special Section: Measuring the value added by professional technical communicators. TC 42 (1995): 23-29
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.
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.
Article: Connor: Rise of TW Instruction
Connors, Robert J. The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Vol. 12 (4), 1982. 329-352.
Overall history of TW instruction from 1900-1980. Focuses on the personalities, key textbooks, and forces that "shaped courses in technical writing during the period 1895-1980," as well as the growth & success of the TW courses.
329 TW fills the need for people communicate with each other about their tools.
330 Morrill Acts 1862 & 1877 founded & promoted land-grant ag & mechanical colleges
330-31 Civil War/ Indust Rev increased need for engineers and thus for their writing/communication, and thus TW increased while there were few courses actually given in TW--training was primarily FYC
332 1911 Samuel Chandler Earle, Father of TW: The Theory and Practice of TW
333 until 1950s TW and Engineering writing were synonymous
333-4 issues between English & Engineering: cultural supremacy bias versus philistine engineer bias; Engl depts producing lit scholars who wanted to teach lit; hostilities between the depts. was big
334 encultration and humanizing ala Aydelotte vs. reading and writing skills ala Earle.
335 TW/Engineering English classes seen as low-status, low-interest classes--resented/regarded very much like FYC is today: let new, powerless people teach
335 1923 first "modern" TW textbook: English for Engineers by Sada A Harbager; organized according to the "technical forms
337 usage texts vs. forms texts
337 TW teachers: no respect from lit folks; Eng profs dissed many TW teachers; Eng students oft dissed TW profs (again, it reminds me of composition)
340 quote near bottom of page "The engineering professor who saw no pressing need fo r curricular changes viewed composition courses as service adjuncts to his activities, not important to fight for, and the humanistic-stem supporters did not see writing courses as humanistic enough to be included under their rubric." [In context of discussing the Hammond Reports of 1940 & 1944]
341 WW2 vital for TW: high demand to write manuals for all the new gear; quote by Jay R. Gould
342 1950s when TW "grew up"
343 "...arguably the single most important postwar technical writing text: Gordon Mills and John Walter's Technical Writing."
343 two most important assumption Walter & Mills learned from their survey of TW writing situations:
a rhetorical approach rather than "types of reports" was best
only good criterion for TW is "does it work?"--writer/reader relationship is most important
343-4 in late 50s & early 60s TW expanded out of engineering into other fields
344 1957 Sputnik led to tech race/war & increased work for TW; still, teaching TW was low prestige
346 Mills & Walter 1954: nobody's tried to say exactly what TW is
346 in the 60s, a variety of folks try to figure out what TW is
Key early essays: Robert Hays, 1961; W. Earl Britton, 1965
346 Britton's conclusion was TW defined most by "the effort of the author to convey one meaning and only one meaning in what he says." quoted in Connors.
346 first empirical research into TW and teaching TW took place in 60s
Early research/experiments
1964 Harry E Hand errors
1967 Richard M. Davis efforts of variable in tech description
347 1970 Journal of TW & Comm started; 1973 ATTW founded; 1976 MLA the first TW panel appeared
348 popularity, need, & growth of TC led to more courses, more tenure, and some more respect in 70s
Vocabulary:
diachronic
limne
quondom
Another article to get:
Composition for the culture of professionalism: notes on thehistory of technical writing instruction
Russell, D.R.
Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA;
This paper appears in: Professional Communication Conference, 1989. IPCC '89. 'Communicating to the World.', International
Publication Date: 18-20 Oct 1989
On page(s): 39-41
Meeting Date: 10/18/1989 - 10/20/1989
Location: Garden City, NY, USA
References Cited: 0
INSPEC Accession Number: 3695088
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/IPCC.1989.102095
Current Version Published: 2002-08-06
Abstract
The history of technical writing instruction reveals an increasing specialization which mirrors growing specialization in both engineering and the wider culture. Since World War II, professional communicators have taken on the role of translators, bridging the inevitable communication gaps between communities of specialists. Technical writers are specialists in specialization
Overall history of TW instruction from 1900-1980. Focuses on the personalities, key textbooks, and forces that "shaped courses in technical writing during the period 1895-1980," as well as the growth & success of the TW courses.
329 TW fills the need for people communicate with each other about their tools.
330 Morrill Acts 1862 & 1877 founded & promoted land-grant ag & mechanical colleges
330-31 Civil War/ Indust Rev increased need for engineers and thus for their writing/communication, and thus TW increased while there were few courses actually given in TW--training was primarily FYC
332 1911 Samuel Chandler Earle, Father of TW: The Theory and Practice of TW
333 until 1950s TW and Engineering writing were synonymous
333-4 issues between English & Engineering: cultural supremacy bias versus philistine engineer bias; Engl depts producing lit scholars who wanted to teach lit; hostilities between the depts. was big
334 encultration and humanizing ala Aydelotte vs. reading and writing skills ala Earle.
335 TW/Engineering English classes seen as low-status, low-interest classes--resented/regarded very much like FYC is today: let new, powerless people teach
335 1923 first "modern" TW textbook: English for Engineers by Sada A Harbager; organized according to the "technical forms
337 usage texts vs. forms texts
337 TW teachers: no respect from lit folks; Eng profs dissed many TW teachers; Eng students oft dissed TW profs (again, it reminds me of composition)
340 quote near bottom of page "The engineering professor who saw no pressing need fo r curricular changes viewed composition courses as service adjuncts to his activities, not important to fight for, and the humanistic-stem supporters did not see writing courses as humanistic enough to be included under their rubric." [In context of discussing the Hammond Reports of 1940 & 1944]
341 WW2 vital for TW: high demand to write manuals for all the new gear; quote by Jay R. Gould
342 1950s when TW "grew up"
343 "...arguably the single most important postwar technical writing text: Gordon Mills and John Walter's Technical Writing."
343 two most important assumption Walter & Mills learned from their survey of TW writing situations:
a rhetorical approach rather than "types of reports" was best
only good criterion for TW is "does it work?"--writer/reader relationship is most important
343-4 in late 50s & early 60s TW expanded out of engineering into other fields
344 1957 Sputnik led to tech race/war & increased work for TW; still, teaching TW was low prestige
346 Mills & Walter 1954: nobody's tried to say exactly what TW is
346 in the 60s, a variety of folks try to figure out what TW is
Key early essays: Robert Hays, 1961; W. Earl Britton, 1965
346 Britton's conclusion was TW defined most by "the effort of the author to convey one meaning and only one meaning in what he says." quoted in Connors.
346 first empirical research into TW and teaching TW took place in 60s
Early research/experiments
1964 Harry E Hand errors
1967 Richard M. Davis efforts of variable in tech description
347 1970 Journal of TW & Comm started; 1973 ATTW founded; 1976 MLA the first TW panel appeared
348 popularity, need, & growth of TC led to more courses, more tenure, and some more respect in 70s
Vocabulary:
diachronic
limne
quondom
Another article to get:
Composition for the culture of professionalism: notes on thehistory of technical writing instruction
Russell, D.R.
Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA;
This paper appears in: Professional Communication Conference, 1989. IPCC '89. 'Communicating to the World.', International
Publication Date: 18-20 Oct 1989
On page(s): 39-41
Meeting Date: 10/18/1989 - 10/20/1989
Location: Garden City, NY, USA
References Cited: 0
INSPEC Accession Number: 3695088
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/IPCC.1989.102095
Current Version Published: 2002-08-06
Abstract
The history of technical writing instruction reveals an increasing specialization which mirrors growing specialization in both engineering and the wider culture. Since World War II, professional communicators have taken on the role of translators, bridging the inevitable communication gaps between communities of specialists. Technical writers are specialists in specialization
Aristotle Rhetoric Notes
Book 1, Chapter 11
On Learning:
That last phrase just needs to be thought about. A lot.
Practical Wisdom:
Could TC be seen as practical wisdom/ applied knowledge? Does that make it "power over others?"
On Learning:
Learning things and wondering at things are also pleasant as a rule; wondering implies the desire of learning, so that the object of wonder is an object of desire; while in learning one is brought into one's natural condition.
That last phrase just needs to be thought about. A lot.
Practical Wisdom:
And since power over others is very pleasant, it is pleasant to be thought wise, for practical wisdom secures us power over others.
Could TC be seen as practical wisdom/ applied knowledge? Does that make it "power over others?"
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