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D.K. Seaman Chair, 
Technical and Professional Communication
 

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Content: Jennifer MacLennan

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Interdisciplinary MA Programmes:
Rhetoric and Professional Communication

Starting in 1999-2000, two students will begin graduate studies in Rhetoric and Technical Communication through the University of Saskatchewan's  Interdisciplinary Studies Programme. Megan Huston and Burton Urquhart come to the Univeristy of Saskatchewan with a substantial background in communication and rhetoric. Both are graduates of the University of Lethbridge (1999), where they participated in a number of special projects in communication. Both are already veteran conference presenters, with two conference papers each to their credit. 

Their project proposals deal with very different aspects of  professional communication, although both will employ the methods of critical analysis developed by the twentieth-century rhetorical theorist, Kenneth Burke. Their projects, one dealing with Alternate Dispute Resolution and the other with Technical Presentations, show how diverse the study of Rhetoric and Professional Communication can be. Huston's project will focus on mediation as a communication process and will involve extensive observation and rhetorical analysis of the Family Group Conferencing process as carried out in an Aboriginal Youth Circle. Urquhart's project will begin with an analysis of communicative demands in the technical workplace, and will respond to this analysis with a concrete handbook for technical presentations. Burke’s critical model has been used by rhetorical critics to study a host of communication phenomena, from Hitler’s Mein Kampf to the rhetoric of social movements, from  mass murder to such icons of pop culture as Dennis Rodman and Martha Stewart. There is good reason to believe that Burke’s theoretical model will be equally productive in the analysis of the communication practices and situations studied in these two projects.

If you are interested in a programme in Rhetoric, Professional or Technical Communication, you may wish to study the proposals submitted by Huston and Urquhart; these were written in collaboration with their intended supervisor, and will be carried out under her direction. Course work in communication for these programmes can be viewed by clicking here. Their proposals are featured below.

Megan Huston's Proposal"A Burkean Analysis of Mediation as Communication in the Aboriginal Youth Circle."

Burton Urquhart's Proposal: “Communicative Demands of the Technical Workplace: A Burkean Analysis and Practical Handbook.”
 
 


Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Programme (MA) Proposal
Megan L. Huston
Burkean Analysis of Mediation as Communication 
in the Aboriginal Youth Circle

Brief Description of the Proposed Research
My proposed area of study is Rhetoric and Professional Communication, and in particular mediation.  I am especially interested in studying the Family Group Conferencing process carried out in Aboriginal Youth Circles. The University of Saskatchewan’s Interdisciplinary MA Programme offers the ideal context for this study because of the university’s commitment to partnerships with the Aboriginal community and to study and research in communication, as represented by the newly-created D.K. Seaman Chair in Technical and Professional Communication in the College of Engineering.

Method and Approach 
This project involves a combination of disciplinary interests not currently available in any single department. An interdisciplinary programme of course work and research will allow me to explore this intersection of culture, legal process, and persuasion-negotiation. I plan to conduct an analysis of the communication process involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution, particularly the Aboriginal Youth Circle, using methods of rhetorical analysis derived from the dramatistic theories of Kenneth Burke, whose approach to the study of communication has been influential in a number of academic disciplines (including rhetoric and communication, sociology, philosophy, education, psychology, and literary studies). Using Burke’s methods, I will determine the nature of the communicative act, the importance of the context in which it occurs, the kind of acts (verbal and nonverbal) that are privileged, the construction of the agent as communicator, the appropriateness of agency, and the elements of motive which drive the process. The results of my analysis will be presented in a thesis with the working title "A Burkean Analysis of Mediation as Communication in the Aboriginal Youth Circle." 

Professional Communication Activities and Course Work
I will have the opportunity to participate in several professional communication activities, including conference presentation, undergraduate teaching, and research assistantship duties. In addition to a graduate course on Burke, I will also complete
several courses in rhetorical and communication theory, which will be supported by formal study of mediation and observation of a Family Group Conference in partnership with the College of Law and the Saskatoon Tribal Council.  A detailed list of my
proposed course work, including course descriptions, is included in this submission

Background and Preparation
My undergraduate programme laid the groundwork for this graduate study  through numerous advanced courses in rhetorical theory and additional studies in political science, Native American studies, and philosophy. My relevant courses at the
undergraduate level have included: 

  • Rhetorical Foundations of Communication Practice;
  • Rhetorical Dimensions of Oral Communication; 
  • Introduction to Native American Studies; 
  • Administration of Justice;
  • Philosophy of Law; 
  • Rhetorical Criticism; 
  • Rhetorical Theory; 
  • Rhetoric and Professional
  • Communication; 
  • International Relations. 
In addition, I have had the opportunity to participate in several independent study and group learning projects. I have also presented two papers to scholarly conferences (Northwest Communication Association annual conference, 1997 and 1998), and  have acted as a teaching assistant for an introductory course.

Significance of the Work
Cross-cultural communication is a significant area of inquiry not only in communication studies, but also in psychology, law, sociology, criminology, and literary studies. My thesis project will contribute to this growing field of interest in several ways. First, it will approach the issue of ADR as a communication phenomenon, and will offer an analysis of this process as it is carried out in a cross-cultural environment. Second, it will draw upon a well-established theoretical base (the work of Kenneth Burke) to provide an analytical framework for this inquiry and will extend Burke’s dramatistic method to an area not previously investigated using this model. Third, it will contribute to a further understanding between  Aboriginal traditions and those of the “dominant” Canadian culture, and as such will contribute directly to the University’s goals of promoting cross-cultural understanding and cooperation. 

The study of rhetoric and communication has been enormously important to my undergraduate experience, and has given me a solid foundation on which to build as an interdisciplinary graduate student specializing in the study of communication under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer MacLennan. We have already established a positive and effective working relationship, and I am looking forward to continuing my studies in communication under her direction.
 


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Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Programme (MA) Proposal
Burton L. Urquhart
“Communicative Demands of the Technical Workplace: 
A Burkean Analysis and Practical Handbook.”

Brief Description of the Proposed Research
The core of my proposed Interdisciplinary Studies MA programme is rhetoric and professional communication, specifically the ways in which theoretical models can be used to enhance both the understanding and the practice of communication. Although there are numerous
programs in the US which allow for this intersection of disciplines, there are no programs in Canada as yet that combine rhetoric with the  study of technical communication. An interdisciplinary MA programme will allow me to combine my study of rhetoric and
communication theory with an understanding of the communicative demands of a technical environment such as engineering.

Method and Approach 
My project has both theoretical and practical dimensions which will be developed in two distinct phases. First, I will use the Dramatistic Pentad, an analytical model developed by the twentieth-century rhetorical theorist Kenneth Burke, as a tool for analyzing the technical
workplace as a rhetorical situation. This study  will be facilitated by a graduate level course in the theories of Kenneth Burke and their applications to a variety of communication phenomena combined with observation and analysis of the kinds of communication situations typically faced by students in technical disciplines. Using Burke’s methods, I will determine the nature of the scene, the kind of acts that are privileged, the construction of the agent as communicator, the appropriateness of agency, and the elements of motive which drive the whole interaction. The results of this analysis will be presented in an essay to be submitted as a conference paper.  The resulting analytical structure will provide a foundation forthe second phase of my project,  the development of communication strategies specific to that context. In particular, I propose to create a manual, geared for students in technical programmes, on effective oral presentation. Although intended for an audience of non-specialists, this handbook will require a full understanding of the connection between rhetorical theory and communicative practice.

Professional Communication Activities and Course Work
I will have the opportunity to participate in several professional communication activities, including conference participation, undergraduate teaching, and research assistantship duties. In addition to a graduate course on Burke, I will also complete several courses in rhetorical and communication theory and a course in organizational behaviour. A detailed list of my proposed course work, including course descriptions, is included in this submission

Background and Preparation
I come to the University of Saskatchewan with an undergraduate degree from the University of Lethbridge. I have completed eight courses in language, rhetoric, and communication, including Rhetoric and Professional Communication, Oratory, Rhetorical
Theory, and The Rhetoric of Popular Culture. I have maintained an A average overall (approximately 89%) in these courses. In the fall of 1997 I participated in a collaborative project in which five senior students planned, designed, and presented a series of workshops for
introductory classes of rhetoric students and for the university community. I presented a reflective paper on this topic to the 1998 conference of the Northwest Communication Conference in the US, and have submitted a second paper to the 1999 meeting of the NWCA, which I will present in April 1999.

Significance of the Work
Interest in the rhetoric of science and technology is growing (the National [American] Communication Association’s Caucus on Communication and Technology was ratified at the 1998 NCA convention in November of this year), as are programmes offering advanced degrees in the field of rhetoric and technical communication (two examples are the University of Washington and Texas Tech University, where these degrees are offered in Colleges of Engineering; there are many more similar programmes throughout the US). My work would contribute to this growing field through its application of Burkean analysis to the technical workplace as rhetorical situation, and through its adaptation of the results of this analysis to the development of effective communication practice. As well, and of more immediate interest to the University of Saskatchewan, by helping to enhance the study and practice of communication within the College of Engineering my project will contribute to the goals that led to the establishment of the D.K. Seaman Chair in Technical and Professional Communication. The University of Saskatchewan’s Interdisciplinary Studies Programme will allow me to conduct this important work in a Canadian context, under the supervision of an experienced communication professor and scholar.
 
 

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