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Subject:history of tech writing From:Joanne Greene <jgreene -at- MED -dot- OSD -dot- MIL> Date:Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:36:39 -0500
Hi Deborah,
This topic interests me also. The tradition is longer than many perceive. Technical writing has existed for quite a while; but it just hasn't been taught as a separate discipline in academe until recently.
THe length of its history depends on one's definition of technical writing. If it is writing about science or technology for a lay audience, then there is quite a legacy.
There are academic journals on teaching technical writing that may be resources.
Baywood Press publishes a book called The Emergence of a Tradition: Technical Writing in the English Renaissance, 1475 - 1640, by Elizabeth Tebeaux.
Baywood's web address is http//baywood.com
Jo
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