Throwing a monkey-wrench into the works: Including radicals in the teaching of technical/environmental writing

Abstract

This paper discusses how the inclusion of environmental radicals in the teaching of environmental writing in professional and technical communication may benefit students' critical thinking, analysis, and reflection competencies. The origins and positions of eco-terror organizations as juxtaposed to the messages produced by government provide a pivotal intersection through which students can be introduced to the ideas of marginalized voices in environmental thinking. Including studies of radical rhetoric in an environmental writing curriculum presents to students another point of view in the discussion of the environment. Students can learn to assess the validity of claims made by others and develop the skills to identify real issues that exist in the spaces between mainstream and alternative environmental rhetorics.