Ridicule, Technical Communication, and Nineteenth-Century Women Performing College Math. Issue 2 (3rd April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fiss, Andrew
• Is Part Of: Technical communication quarterly. Volume 30:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 143
• Page End: 156
• Publication Date: 2021-04-03
• Subjects: Ridicule -- humor -- mathematics -- nineteenth-century -- college life -- technical communication history; Technical writing -- Periodicals; Technical writing -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 808.0666
• DOI: 10.1080/10572252.2020.1803989
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1057-2252

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article examines how nineteenth-century participants in technical and professional communication (TPC) used rhetorical techniques of ridicule to critique audiences' assumptions and advocate for expanded educational opportunities. Encouraging laughter ostensibly about college mathematics, Vassar students drew on their knowledge of rhetoric and higher education to disrupt audience expectations regarding the gendered identities of mathematician and college student. Using a case study, this article broadly urges the development of the role of humor as a technique in TPC.