Situating Public Memory as a Keyword in Technical and Professional Communication

Abstract

Building on the previously implicit relationship between public memory and technical and professional communication (TPC), this article argues that explicitly bringing these fields of study into dialogue with one another helps researchers and practitioners think more rhetorically about the social impact of their work. Situating public memory as a keyword in TPC illuminates past injustices to deepen our understanding of current conditions. Accordingly, we call for work in TPC that outwardly engages public memory—work that explores TPC’s role in shaping public memory narratives and the impacts those narratives have on different peoples, places, and events.