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Kathryn, Thanks so much for your thoughtful contribution to the discussion of Professional Writing. In my sense of the term, PW involves writing in the professions/writing in the workplace (as well as the writing of "career writers") -- and I agree with you completely that this realm includes the writing of clerical/support/"paraprofessional"/blue collar workers. Again, thanks for nuancing the discussion so carefully. Graham ********************************** Graham Smart Assistant Professor Department of English 324 Heavilon Hall Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana 47907 Office phone: (765) 496-1593 Home phone: (765) 496-2373 e-mail: [log in to unmask] ********************************** On Mon, 17 Aug 1998, /Inkshed <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Forgive me for blurting and stumbling in here - this has been a really > thought provoking discussion - and I hope this is not an interruption or > a spoke in the wheel of sorts. > > I have been following this thread of discussion this week, and wondering > at the workplace writing that is done by mainly service sector workers > which would not be considered "professional" but nevertheless has powerful > economic, social, medical and political implications for the writers and > the "objects" or subjects of the writing, and yet is not considered elite, > high status or qualifies for US VISA status -- this writing is highly > literate, is situated in complex social and human contexts, I am thinking > of the writing that is done by child-care workers, youth workers, lay > mental health workers, street workers, transitional house workers etc. - > many of these occupations require a considerable amount of > reading/reporting documenting/summarizing in a deeply situated manner as > well as interacting/ negotiating/ advocacy with hierarchical "regulating > bodies" which supply the "official" genres and technical and literate > authority about official textual accounts of things. It seems to me that > most of the workers in these occupations are mid-aged women, or younger men > and they may typically hold a BA or some other semi-professional > certificate. > > I wrote my MA thesis on the workplace writing that was done by mental > health workers in a community mental health boarding home, ( I think I fell > into the job because my artist friend Polly said it would give me "flex > hours so I could do my "real" writing as a "poet", this thesis was based > on my own experience as a mental health worker and in it I tracked eleven > years of daily documentation in a massive archive we called the daily log. > most of us "nonprofessional" mental health workers were reasonably to > highly educated folks, with backgrounds in the arts, community based > education , theatre, and social activism, advocacy, etc. - and in our > workplace we wrote daily progress notes in the day to day care of adults in > transition from total institutions of the psychiatric warehouses of the > late 70's early 80's to "independent living"/ abandonment in the community > . > > I think one of the most remarkable findings for me was to realise the > degree of literate practice that went on in the day to day maintenance of > our community, but which remained almost entirely taken for granted - > invisible, as a form of consciously acknowledged "writing" - "its not real > writing" it's just log notes!!!" I remember someone declaring, but > others of us wondered at this writing that was so vital to our daily care > of others, so powerful and evocative of the lives lived within the walls > of our community - that we kept writing in a particular > "fieldnotes/anecdotal" manner because we felt it was a better way to > provide care for our residents -- despite having institutionally and > finally forensically mandated edicts to write in a medical model progress > notes style. > > when the workers in the house unanimously decided to maintain two sets of > texts, one to satisfy the licensing board and the forensic authorities, > and the other in order to remain connected as a community and workplace, > because it seemed a more accurate, "safer" and ethical form of writing, I > knew we were onto to something quite profound. . > > Perhaps at the university and elsewhere - we lose sight of the immense > privilege that our particular writing/reading practices hold, ( for example > now I sometimes laugh a wee bit ironically perhaps, when I talk about my > 'work" when it means I must devote the weekend to some reading and > writing), meanwhile as I settle in at my desk to do this work - somewhere > over the other side of town - someone else is sitting down to read twenty > pages of hand written progress notes about what happened in the community > boarding home that week, and after she reads this text she will be faced > with "understanding" the subjects of this writing, providing care, food, > crisis management, medical supplements, dinner and social interaction to > fifteen psychiatrically marginalized adults for the next 8 - 12 hours - > after which she will sit down and write an account of "what happened" in > order to communicate sometimes life-critical details to her fellow workers > coming onto the next shift later that day/week -- her work is highly > literate, textually sophisticated and yet she is paid slightly about > minimum wage and is not considered "technical, academic, or professional" > > > So to answer in a kind of rambling way - professional writing is the kind > of writing that certain people do where the focus of their labour becomes > a recognised textual product that has cultural capital in some form, > because the text can be seen as a active agent of some kind -- also there > seems to be a conscious apprenticeships where this genre of writing is > refined > > > whereas other people's workplace writing is not defined as professional > - and the writing is done as a part of the work that is done - it is > perceived as instrumental - a means to an end, and I suspect that > learning the writing of the workplace is part of learning how to become a > "mental health worker" - much as Lave and Wenger speak of in "Situated > Learning" -- therefore this form of writing does not have status or > capital value mainly because the labour falls into that mediated space > where the focus in upon the services of the body ( even when that service > in for the care and welfare and comfort of many other people) and the > textualization of that labour is rendered invisible in the services of the > bodies. I imagine that pay equity legislation will begin to draw attention > to the textual and literate practices of this invisible but essential > sector of under-valued workers. > > For anyone interested -- I think Dorothy Smith has made a huge > contribution to this "curious eclipse" about the differences between > "professional" texts and what she calls documentary text in her writing > about "the active text" and the "textual relations of ruling" in her two > books - The Conceptual Practices of Ruling -- and Texts, Facts and > Femininity: Exploring the Relations of Ruling. > > cheers > > kathryn > > > ********************************************************** > People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds, > people who possess strong feelings even people with great minds > and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls > L.S. Vygotsky > > Kathryn Alexander ( a now redeemed formerly recalcitrant child) > Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Education, > Simon Fraser University > Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 > [log in to unmask] >