Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 1993

The Ethics of Teaching Ethics in Professional Communication: The Case of Engineering Publicity at MIT in the 1920s

DAVID R. RUSSELL

Abstract

The teaching of ethics in professional communication courses for non-English majors is problematic because teachers of those courses are usually trained in literary studies, a profession that has traditionally viewed with suspicion the ethical orientation of science, technology, and business professions. This article examines the history of this problematic, focusing on the “Engineering Publicity” program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1920s. The article suggests that students may be empowered to enter and transform their professions more through examining ethical critiques of science, technology, and business carried on within and among the professions they will enter than by examining ethical critiques from the profession of literary studies.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1993-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651993007001005
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (9)

  1. Kuryloski et al. (2024)
    Introducing Engineering Students to Standards and Regulatory Research and Writing
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. DeJeu (2022)
    The Ethics of Delivering Bad News: Evaluating Impression Management Strategies …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Mathison et al. (2014)
    Framing Sustainability: Business Students Writing About the Environment
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Moran et al. (2012)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Malone (2007)
    Historical Studies of Technical Communication in the United States and England:…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Thompson (2001)
    Collaboration in technical communication: a qualitative content analysis of jou…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Jennings (2000)
    Employed students: ethical and legal issues in the technical communication classroom
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Moore (1999)
    Myths about instrumental discourse: A response to Robert R. Johnson
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Herrington (1995)
    Ethics and graphic design: a rhetorical analysis of the document design in the …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (49) · 4 in this index

  1. Abbott, Andrew
    The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor
  2. 10.1007/BF00383694
     ↗
  3. Aydelotte, Frank
    English and Engineering
  4. Aydelotte, Frank (1917)
    Engineering Record
  5. 10.1007/BF00870551
     ↗
Show all 49 →
  1. Brockman, John R. (1988)
    Intercom
  2. Caldwell, Robert G. (1941)
    Technology Review
  3. Connors (1982)
    The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. “Course XXI—A History.”
  5. Cremin, Lawrence A.
    The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American Education
  6. Dombrowski, Paul M.
    Conference of College Composition and Communication
  7. Eagleton, Terry
    Literary Theory
  8. Fahnestock, Jeanne
    Textual Dynamics of the Professions: Historical and Contemporary Studies of Writing in Pr…
  9. Fish, Stanley (1983)
    10.1086/448250
    Critical Inquiry  ↗
  10. Graff, Gerald
    Professing Literature
  11. Hamacher, Werner
    Responses: On Paul de Man's Wartime Journalism
  12. 10.2307/377282
     ↗
  13. Jackson, Dugald C., Jr.
    The Profession of Engineering
  14. Kennedy, George
    Classical Rhetoric and Its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times
  15. King, W. J.
    The Unwritten Rules of Engineering
  16. Layton, Edwin T.
    The Revolt of the Engineers
  17. 10.1177/002194369002700301
     ↗
  18. Mallon, Thomas
    Stolen Words: Forays into the Origins and Ravages of Plagiarism
  19. Maris, Faith (1919)
    Educational Review
  20. McCloskey, Donald N.
    Project on the Rhetoric of Inquiry Seminar
  21. 10.2307/375964
     ↗
  22. 10.1080/10510977809367983
     ↗
  23. Miller, Carolyn R.
    Technical Writing: Theory and Practice
  24. MIT Bulletin
  25. 10.2307/374593
     ↗
  26. 10.1177/108056999005300204
     ↗
  27. Porter, James E.
    Conference of College Composition and Communication
  28. Porter (1987)
    Truth in technical advertising: A case study
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  29. 10.1177/002194369002700303
     ↗
  30. 10.1177/002194368702400303
     ↗
  31. Robinson, Archer T.
    “Memorandum for the Executive Committee.”
  32. Robinson, Archer T.
    “Memorandum in Regard to Proposed Contact Courses.”
  33. 10.1177/002194369002700305
     ↗
  34. Russell, David R.
    Proceedings of the Rhetoric Society of America
  35. Russell, David R.
    Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870-1990: A Curricular History
  36. Schaub, James H.
    Engineering Professionalism and Ethics
  37. Snow, C. P. (1956)
    New Statesman
  38. 10.2307/376983
     ↗
  39. Sullivan, Patricia
    Conference of College Composition and Communication
  40. Tebeaux (1980)
    Let's Not Ruin Technical Writing, Too: A Comment on the Essays of Carolyn Mille…
    College English
  41. Veysey, Laurence R.
    The Emergence of the American University
  42. Wells, Susan
    Theory in the Classroom
  43. Wilcox, Thomas W.
    Anatomy of Freshman English
  44. Zappen (1989)
    The Discourse Community in Scientific and Technical Communication: Institutiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
CrossRef global citation count: 11 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Sep 2026
    Instructional Control for AI-Assisted Learning: Custom AI Tools for Genre-Based Writing ↗
    Junhua Wang
    genre theory writing pedagogy teacher development professional writing artificial intelligence
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Apr 2026
    Bridging Curricula and Workplaces in China: A Needs-Based Model for Arabic Business Communication ↗
    Suo Yan Mei; Suo Yan Ju; Zarima Mohd Zakaria
    discourse analysis teacher development professional writing
  3. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Apr 2026
    Teacher Clarity, Immediacy, and Self-Efficacy: An Ecological Approach to Student Burnout ↗
    Diyako Rahmani; Jenilee Crutcher Williams; Michelle T. Violanti; Stephanie Kelly
    graduate education teacher development professional writing
  4. Journal of Response to Writing Apr 2026
    Feedback Menus: Expanding Student Choice in Response to Writing ↗
    Testa, Andrew
    first-year composition writing pedagogy teacher development revision professional writing literacy studies editorial matter
  5. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2026
    US Hospital Educators' Technology Needs: A Qualitative Study for Developing Action-Oriented Technology ↗
    Margaret Webb; Sweta Baniya; Alexa Smith; Nadra Rasberry; Ihudiya Ogbonnaya-Ogburu
    modern rhetorical theory teacher development assessment professional writing qualitative research book reviews