Comments on: 1: Liberal arts & technical writing http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/1-liberal-arts-and-technical-writing/ ENGL 605, WVU, Fall 2012 Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:44:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Rachel http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/1-liberal-arts-and-technical-writing/#comment-23 Rachel Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:40:39 +0000 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/?p=224#comment-23 Jillian, I completely agree. I was actually quite taken with Rutter and felt hopeful after reading his article and thinking: all right, someone else out there gets it. Like you, I find myself constantly reassuring myself that my interpersonal skills and "mad" writing skills (haha) and ability to learn and be taught will ultimately land me any job I pursue. But I think you alluded to one issue: that we English majors, or liberal arts grads, sometimes lack the confidence to walk into an office and say: boom, this is what I can do for you. Definite. Clear cut. A skill set. I think my continued hesitation, a branch of what I wrote about originally, is that I wonder how aware our future, potential employers are. Do they, like Rutter, recognize the invaluability of "the development of people as people," and not just a set of qualifying (or not) experiences? Again, I think Rutter raises some really strong and intriguing points: that "workplace writing is not well understood," that further research into workplace culture will also better supplement our liberal arts backgrounds, and that technical communicators "have reached their enviable wisdom after several career changes and many years of work... People like this cannot be manufactured routinely in colleges and universities, no matter what cirriculum is available" (30-31). I certainly can't deny that I gained <em>something</em> from my liberal education. I certainly know more than I did 10 years ago and could arguably be called a (somewhat) "sensible, informed, articulate" citizen (32). And I truly <em>love</em> his language: "With the advent of the information revolution, a communication revolution that focuses in large part on the human being, all that belongs to our personality, is valuable—what we sense, what we imagine, what we feel, what we think" (32). The idealist in me, which is the greater part of who I am, clings to this with an overwhelming hope that all it will take to succeed and live a fully and happy life is to be this whole and good person Rutter envisions. But his article and our other readings still have me wondering: is that ideal marketable? Perhaps it's a consequence of having "come of age" in this economic schlump, but I feel like the "cold, hard" factual, practical edge of technical communications (more than the liberal arts' humanities) is what sells. Obviously, I'm torn. I buy into Rutter's call for humanness wholeheartedly. And struggle to sell my humanness in job interviews. :-) Jillian, I completely agree. I was actually quite taken with Rutter and felt hopeful after reading his article and thinking: all right, someone else out there gets it. Like you, I find myself constantly reassuring myself that my interpersonal skills and “mad” writing skills (haha) and ability to learn and be taught will ultimately land me any job I pursue. But I think you alluded to one issue: that we English majors, or liberal arts grads, sometimes lack the confidence to walk into an office and say: boom, this is what I can do for you. Definite. Clear cut. A skill set. I think my continued hesitation, a branch of what I wrote about originally, is that I wonder how aware our future, potential employers are. Do they, like Rutter, recognize the invaluability of “the development of people as people,” and not just a set of qualifying (or not) experiences?

Again, I think Rutter raises some really strong and intriguing points: that “workplace writing is not well understood,” that further research into workplace culture will also better supplement our liberal arts backgrounds, and that technical communicators “have reached their enviable wisdom after several career changes and many years of work… People like this cannot be manufactured routinely in colleges and universities, no matter what cirriculum is available” (30-31). I certainly can’t deny that I gained something from my liberal education. I certainly know more than I did 10 years ago and could arguably be called a (somewhat) “sensible, informed, articulate” citizen (32). And I truly love his language: “With the advent of the information revolution, a communication revolution that focuses in large part on the human being, all that belongs to our personality, is valuable—what we sense, what we imagine, what we feel, what we think” (32). The idealist in me, which is the greater part of who I am, clings to this with an overwhelming hope that all it will take to succeed and live a fully and happy life is to be this whole and good person Rutter envisions. But his article and our other readings still have me wondering: is that ideal marketable? Perhaps it’s a consequence of having “come of age” in this economic schlump, but I feel like the “cold, hard” factual, practical edge of technical communications (more than the liberal arts’ humanities) is what sells.

Obviously, I’m torn. I buy into Rutter’s call for humanness wholeheartedly. And struggle to sell my humanness in job interviews. :-)

]]> By: crdepottey http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/1-liberal-arts-and-technical-writing/#comment-21 crdepottey Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:45:46 +0000 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/?p=224#comment-21 I have had a similar experience with my liberal arts undergraduate education. While I graduated confident that I could analyze one of Shakespeare's plays and write a creative fiction story, I felt that I had little practical experience that could help me find a job. I never learned grammar in a school setting (I basically taught myself), and I was taught how to make a resume only as a graduating senior. I do value my liberal education very highly; I think that without it, I would not have been able to teach myself many of the skills that I now possess. It has allowed me to be flexible, to adapt to new situations, and to seek innovative solutions to problems. On the other hand, I do think that there should have been at least one solely "practical" English course that was required. Because so many of my professors focused on increasing critical thinking skills, rather than on the practical aspects of writing - grammar, syntax, good constructions for arguments - I had to teach myself many skills. I have had a similar experience with my liberal arts undergraduate education. While I graduated confident that I could analyze one of Shakespeare’s plays and write a creative fiction story, I felt that I had little practical experience that could help me find a job. I never learned grammar in a school setting (I basically taught myself), and I was taught how to make a resume only as a graduating senior. I do value my liberal education very highly; I think that without it, I would not have been able to teach myself many of the skills that I now possess. It has allowed me to be flexible, to adapt to new situations, and to seek innovative solutions to problems. On the other hand, I do think that there should have been at least one solely “practical” English course that was required. Because so many of my professors focused on increasing critical thinking skills, rather than on the practical aspects of writing – grammar, syntax, good constructions for arguments – I had to teach myself many skills.

]]> By: Jillian Swisher http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/1-liberal-arts-and-technical-writing/#comment-5 Jillian Swisher Mon, 27 Aug 2012 02:24:57 +0000 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/?p=224#comment-5 Like you, Rachel, I also left a liberal arts undergraduate education feeling like I had little to no practical skill under my belt to take to the job market. I couldn't compose a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis on a company like my friends in business could, and I couldn't wrap a swollen ankle like my friends in physical therapy could. I totally agree with you: at first glance, it doesn't appear that majoring in English afford undergraduates many practical skills. I think that's why I appreciated Rutter's article so much, though. His ability to point out the benefits of a liberal education and the skills (although not as practical as wrapping a swollen ankle) with which those students walk into the job market was quite encouraging for me. It's so easy for us to doubt ourselves and our abilities going into the job market, but our educations thus far have given us "power to see, power to choose, power to design new solutions" (32). Like Rutter explains, the ability to speak and write well will always be in demand. It's convenient that my friend only has to search for jobs within the field of Physical Therapy (and I envy that convenience to an extent), but it's empowering that we have the opportunity to work within countless fields. Also, as much as I sometimes yearn for classes in which I could simply be taught how to write a requirements specifications document or a user manual, I keep telling myself that I'll be able to pick up those "practical" skills while I'm in the field with no problem because of my education in writing, problem solving, critical thinking, audience awareness, etc. Like you, Rachel, I also left a liberal arts undergraduate education feeling like I had little to no practical skill under my belt to take to the job market. I couldn’t compose a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis on a company like my friends in business could, and I couldn’t wrap a swollen ankle like my friends in physical therapy could. I totally agree with you: at first glance, it doesn’t appear that majoring in English afford undergraduates many practical skills. I think that’s why I appreciated Rutter’s article so much, though. His ability to point out the benefits of a liberal education and the skills (although not as practical as wrapping a swollen ankle) with which those students walk into the job market was quite encouraging for me. It’s so easy for us to doubt ourselves and our abilities going into the job market, but our educations thus far have given us “power to see, power to choose, power to design new solutions” (32). Like Rutter explains, the ability to speak and write well will always be in demand. It’s convenient that my friend only has to search for jobs within the field of Physical Therapy (and I envy that convenience to an extent), but it’s empowering that we have the opportunity to work within countless fields. Also, as much as I sometimes yearn for classes in which I could simply be taught how to write a requirements specifications document or a user manual, I keep telling myself that I’ll be able to pick up those “practical” skills while I’m in the field with no problem because of my education in writing, problem solving, critical thinking, audience awareness, etc.

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