Course Texts
Please note: all course texts available through Canvas or online
Boyle, C. & Rivers, N.A. (2016). A version of access. Technical Communication Quarterly. 25(1). 29-47.
Bullard, R. (2003) Environmentalism and social justice. Dumping in Dixie: Race, class, and environmental equality. Routledge. (3rd ed. pp. 1-21).
Burnett, R. (2004). Technical communication. Cengage.
Coppola, N.W. (1997). Rhetorical analysis of stakeholders in environmental communication: a model. Technical communication quarterly. 6(1), 9-24.
Dragga, S. & Voss, D. (2001). Cruel pies: the inhumanity of technical illustrations. Technical Communication, 48(3), 265-74.
Finney, C. (2014). It’s not easy being green. Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimaging the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors. University of North Carolina Press. (pp.92-116).
Glave, D. D. (2010). Conservation: an african legacy of working the land. Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage. Chicago Review Press. (pp. 81-92).
Grabill, J. T. & W. & Simmons, M. (1998). Toward a critical rhetoric of risk communications: producing citizens in the role of technical communications. Technical Communications Quarterly 7(4), 415-441.
Greenwood, A., Lauren, B., Knott, J., & DeVoss, N. (2019). Dissensus, resistance, and ideology: design as a rhetorical methodology. Journal of Business and Technical Communication. 33(4).9-24.
Hewitt, J. (Winter 2004). First impressions: writing a good abstract. The Communication Factor (pp.2). Rice University Newsletter.
McMurrey, D. & Powell, T. (2019). Open Technical Communication.
Moller, M., et. al. (2019). Participation through place-based e-tools: a valuable resource for urban green infrastructure governance. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40, 245-253.
Nixon, R. (2011). Epilogue: Scenes from the seabed. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press. (pp. 263-280).
Technical Communication. (2017). 64(2): Special Issue on localizing user experience for culturally sensitive design (pp. 89-94)
Walsh, Linda (2015). “The Visual Rhetoric of Climate Change.” WIREs Climate Change, 6, 361–368.
Washington, H. (2019). Poisoned World: The racial gradient of environmental neurotoxins.” A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind. Little Brown. 112-158.
Common Feedback Chart
Common Policies
Please familiarize yourself with Georgia Tech’s Common Policies about evaluation rubrics (grading), course completion, attendance requirements, participation in class, non-discrimination, the Communication Center, accommodations, academic misconduct, syllabus modifications, and learning outcomes. You will be responsible for these policies, and when you sign the Statement of Understanding, you affirm you are familiar with these policies.
Attendance
The Writing and Communication Program has a Program-wide attendance policy, which allows 3 absences without penalty, regardless of reason. After that, penalties may accrue. Exceptions are allowed for Institute-approved absences (for example, those documented by the Registrar) and situations such as isolating for Covid exposure, hospitalization, or family emergencies (documented by the Office of the Dean of Students). To accommodate students who may be exposed to COVID, I will post video versions of all lectures in the daily Class Plans.
COIVD Safety
Per the GATech’s Campus Guidelines, “The CDC recently issued new interim guidance recommending the use of masks inside public buildings even by fully vaccinated individuals. At Georgia Tech, everyone is encouraged to wear a mask or face covering while inside campus facilities. To be clear, neither vaccination nor masking in indoor public spaces is required at Georgia Tech.” Also, please note that GATech follows guidelines mandated by USG Higher Ed.
Positive COVID Case Protocols
Per GATech’s Office of the Provost, When a student tests positive for Covid-19, the contact tracing (CT) team will interview that student to identify anyone who had close contact with them during the infectious period. The following process will then notify faculty.
- The CT team will notify the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) of the positive case using the student ID number.
- The Office of the Dean of Students will notify the instructors of all remote, hybrid, and residential courses the student is taking that the student has a medical condition and will be absent from class. Excuse the absence, make allowances for late work, and maintain their privacy. Do not assume the nature of the student’s illness or initiate contact tracing yourself. There may be situations when the student directly notifies the instructor that they have tested positive. This information should not be divulged to anyone else.
- If the student is taking any in-person course sections, the CT team will contact those instructors to request any class attendance information that may be useful in contact tracing if that information is needed to identify close contacts.
Participation
Active participation and engagement in class activities, discussion, and events is required and counts as part of your total grade. You may be penalized if you have not done the reading or fail to regularly participate in class discussions and onsite/online activities.
Late or Missing Assignments
Active participation and engagement in short writes, discussion, and major team projects is required. You may be penalized if you have not done the reading or fail to regularly participate in discussions and/or activities. Most importantly, be sure to communicate regularly with your team members, so you do not miss meetings or deadlines that should have been rescheduled.
Course Completion
In all sections of LMC 3403, not completing any component of the course, including projects, assignments, or workshops, may result in failure of the course, as determined by the instructor in consultation with the Director of the Writing and Communication Program.
Revision
While revision is built into all major assignments, during the semester you will have the opportunity to revise one major assignment that earns a B- or below. If you wish to revise a graded assignment, meet with me during office hours or by appointment to discuss steps and due dates. The revised assignment will receive an entirely new grade (not an average of the old and new grade).
Academic Integrity
Cheating and plagiarism are serious violations of the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code. Plagiarism is intentionally passing off sentences, paragraphs, or entire papers written by someone else as your own original work or submitting whole or partial projects produced for other classes. When you intentionally use language, ideas, images, or other material or code without fully acknowledging its source/authorship in citation, you will receive and F for engaging in academic dishonesty and be referred to the Office of Student Integrity, as required by Georgia Tech policy.
Accommodations
Please note that this class requires some walking outdoors. Georgia Tech supports students through Access Disabled Assistance Program for Tech Students (ADAPTS). Any student who may require accommodation for a documented disability should inform me during the first week of class or when you become aware of your disability. Students who anticipate difficulties with the content or format of the course due to a documented disability should arrange a meeting with me at the beginning of the semester, so we can create a workable plan for your success in the course. ADAPTS serves any Georgia Tech student who has a documented, qualified disability. Official documentation of the disability is required to determine the eligibility for accommodation or adaptations that may be helpful for this course.
Communications Center
Please consider taking one or more projects, at any stage of the writing process, to the Georgia Tech Communications Center. The Center is an excellent resource for all students working on white papers, oral presentations, storyboards, videos, poster designs, podcasts, or professional materials. Make your appointment online to meet with a tutor in Clough Commons, Suite 447.
Non-Discrimination
The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts supports the Georgia Institute of Technology’s commitment to creating a campus free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status. We further affirm the importance of cultivating an intellectual climate that allows us to better understand the similarities and differences of those who constitute the Georgia Tech community, as well as the necessity of working against inequalities that may also manifest here as they do in the broader society.
Course Website & Syllabus Modification
Please note that the course calendar, assignments, and texts are subject to updates over the duration of the semester, and while the course site will be revised to reflect changes, the .pdf syllabus will not.