Fleeting Carrots: Mapping my Academic Identity, Sort of

First Year Composition & Comp Studies
First Year Composition: A concentration within Composition Studies not to be confused with Composition Studies as a whole. Limiting Comp to FYC, i.e. one or two classes of an entire curriculum, would be like limiting Techincal Communication to one introductory TC class. Not inherently a bad limitation to make though, as long as you're clear about the distinction, because not all institutions have dedicated writing/composition/communication programs. Right now, I teach FYC within a Composition program. I haven't figured out how I'm defining FYC yet, though for me the term "composition" emphasizes the process/act(s) of composing more so than communicating... but obviously one considers audience(s), rhetoric, communicating, etc., while composing.

Technical Writing & Communication
Technical Writing: A subfield focused specifically on written Technical Communication (which includes writing, editing, illustrating, speaking, designing, translating, coding, etc.).

Communication Rhetoric & Composition, CCR, RCC
Communication is rhetorical. In order to communicate, one must compose. Composition is rhetorical. Rhetoric is compositional and communicative. All three are valuable and important. Hardline distinctions between the three irritate me, though there are differences in terms of theory, methodology, etc. I'm alright with fuzziness here.

I see these distinctions because I've been learning and understanding the world through a media theory of composition lens, apparently. In brief, "a media-centered theory of composition (hereafter referred to as ?media theory?) focuses on the tools used in the composition process, and their opportunities and constraints." I'd argue that the tools are still used in the communication process as well. Furthermore, some might notice that I left out the "new media" part of that quote. I focus on digital media, but in relation to print, electronic, etc., media. "New" is too vague for me right now. So, I study what technologies people use to compose in order to communicate, rhetorically, how they use them for various purposes,? what people use them for/to do, who uses them, how technologies influence communication/composition processes, etc., broadly speaking. Consequently, I find the usability of technologies rather interesting. To be able to do anything about usability though, I find a technical understanding (and the ability to communicate, technically, and with rhetorical effectiveness) very helpful. Influencing usability, then, is also a rhetorical (and at some level political and ideological) act.

There. The world temporarily makes sense. This is not, however, an attempt to say that this is how the world is or should be. Rather, it's a helpful map for me to figure out what the heck I'm doing, and there's a whole lotta mapping not on this page. I'm still trying to understand how things are being mapped by others. Tomorrow, if not sooner, I'll probably say FYIAV (F--k you, I'm a vampire [Haraway]), and complicate these labels anyway. But, for the moment, I know where I am. Sort of. Except for all those things I left out.

Source: http://fleetingcarrots.blogspot.com/2012/09/mapping-my-academic-identity-sort-of.html

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