Technical Communication & Rhetoric Undergraduate Course Descriptions
TCR 2100: Introduction to Technical Communication | Chen (in-person) | Eyre (online)
This course introduces you to the field of technical communication as an iterative, problem-solving activity useful in any organization with communication needs. Working independently and collaboratively, you will propose, compose, design, and revise a variety of workplace-based documents. This course will also teach you how to synthesize and evaluate arguments about technology and society relevant to technical communicators. This course uses a free open-access textbook along with other freely available media.
TCR 2110: Digital Writing Technologies | Perkins (online)
Technologies are always changing, so it’s important that you know how to learn new technologies. That’s what you’ll do in this class. Employers will expect you to be adept at using a variety of technologies and know how to select the best tool(s) to accomplish a particular task. In this course, you will gain experience learning and using three software programs used for 1) photo editing, 2) document layout, and 3) web design. But more importantly, you’ll develop your sense of adventure, tenacity, and confidence in evaluating, learning, and using technologies relevant to the workplace.
ENGL 3085: Writing for the Computer Science Workplace | Mathis | Stevens
This class will introduce you to professional and technical writing situations common in computer science workplaces, as we cultivate adaptive communication strategies and ethical professional behaviors. You will design and write professional documents, synthesize and evaluate arguments on technology and society, and collaborate in teams to present technical information.
TCR 3100: Workplace Research | Anabire
Technical communicators frequently engage in research to answer questions or address problems in the workplace. This course is designed to prepare you to work successfully as a technical writer by learning how to craft a research question; how to select appropriate methods to address a particular research question; how to ethically collect and analyze data; and how to report research findings and their associated implications (i.e., research-based recommendations). By partnering with a client for the full semester, you will practice applying all that you are learning within a real organizational context, learning about how you can conduct research to address organizational problems and questions.
TCR 3220: Technical Editing | Stevens
Whether or not your job title includes the word “editor,” you will find that good editing skills are an excellent way to move ahead in your workplace. In this course, you will experience first-hand what it means to be an editor by learning and applying the skills of copyediting, proofreading, and comprehensively editing, while also considering the context in which editing currently exists, and moving toward considering what editing could be by engaging in critical frameworks and theories that can inform our conceptualizations of editing.
TCR 3230: Community Grant Writing | Ault-Dyslin
Through a community-engaged learning approach, students collaborate with nonprofit partner organizations as you develop analysis, writing, editing, and communication skills. Coursework leads up to a final grant draft that will be presented to the partner organization for future funding opportunities.
TCR 4230: Project Management | Edenfield
In this class, you will study project management strategies involving and affecting diverse groups of stakeholders. You will learn first-hand how gender, race, culture, age, ideology, and socioeconomic class influence the design, execution, and outcomes of projects.
TCR 4240: User Experience Design | Chen
User experience design works to make products and services more enjoyable for users. In this class, you will learn how to plan, conduct, and report on data collected from user experience design research, including the value of designing experiences for a diverse user base.
TCR 5490: Special Topics: AI and Writing | Moeller
This course will focus on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)—from GenAI bot writers and predictive text generators to ChatGPT—as a writing technology. Using posthuman theory, we will interrogate GenAI’s impact on human labor and probe its limitations and potentialities as a tool in the field of technical communication.