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In Kelli Cargile Cook’s (2002) article, “Layered Literacies: A Theoretical Frame for Technical Communication Pedagogy” she proposed a “theoretical frame for technical communication pedagogy based on six layered literacies: basic, rhetorical, social, technological, ethical, and critical” (p. 5). Cook synthesized the current narratives surrounding the teaching of technical communication, assessed the six layered literacies (basic, rhetorical, social, technological, ethical, and critical), knowing oneself and the audience, effectively collaborating, working with technologies, knowing your role and how it affects the user-centered design, the ethical force that moves things along towards a center, recognizing ideological power structures and taking action to assist others, and the incorporation of the literacies into the curriculum. Cook’s purpose was to demonstrate that “most importantly, they can use the frame both to promote and to assess the increasingly complex range of knowledge and skills students require to become successful technical and professional communicators in the twenty-first century” (p. 24). Cook’s intended audience was potential and current instructors of technical communication who might need guidance about teaching such complex material. Cook clearly described each type of literacy distinctly and established their importance into the curriculum.

Blyler, N. (1998). Taking a political turn: The critical perspective and research in professional communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 7(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572259809364616

In Nancy Blyler’s (1998) article “Taking a Political Turn: The Critical Perspective and Research in Professional Communication.,” she promoted that “research in professional communication ought to take an increasingly political turn” (p. 1). Blyler investigated the resistance of political communication in a pedagogy setting along with the possibilities, the sources of power, the ethical benefits, the goal of research, the necessary relationship between knowledge and politics, self-conscious recognition, empowerment and emancipation, the relationship between researcher and participant, free and open communication, ideology and subjectivity, disciplines, theoretical perspectives, and methodology. Blyler’s purpose was to demonstrate the realization that “the same benefits in our research that accrue to us from our political turn in our pedagogy: the benefits of empowerment, emancipation, and social action” (p. 12). Blyler’s intended audience was scholars involved in professional communication who may have been weary of incorporating political features. Blyler’s innovative perspective appeared possible in the article, but it would be interesting to see how the funding issues and political logistics evolve.

Rude, C. D. (2009). Mapping the research questions in Technical Communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 23(2), (pp. 174-215). https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651908329562

In Carolyn D. Rude’s (2009) article “Mapping the Research Questions in Technical Communication,” she proposed “a central research question and four areas of related questions for technical communication” (p. 175). Rude inspected the four directions of research, the mapping metaphor, analyzed the field, asked the central question and broke it down, how the prefix re functions, the role of power, the evolution of the job title, pedagogy questions, conceptual questions, and political questions. Rude’s purpose was to “suggest the coherence of the field’s research and its promise for the future as well as its connections to other areas of inquiry and to other communication specializations, including rhetoric and composition” (pp. 175-176). Rude’s intended audience was professors and scholars of technical communication seeking a metaphor to better understand and map out the field of study. Rude’s analysis of technical communication was thought-provoking, but she asked more questions than the amount of answers she provided.