ABSTRACT
If technical communication has existed as the less significant offering within English
departments, document design has lived as the less significant component of technical
communication courses. This is not particularly surprising. In speaking more specif-
ically about visual literacy, Selfe (2004) noted that “teachers continue to privilege
alphabetic literacy over visual literacy . . . because they have already invested so heavily
in writing, writing instruction and writing programs” (p. 71). Westbrook (2006) further
claimed that we “redeploy the lore and paradigms that we have inherited-the advice,
warnings, or ways of knowing that the authorities of print culture have given us-
whether or not these are entirely appropriate for and ultimately beneficial to writing
students of the twenty-first century” (p. 459). Although Westbrook was speaking more
generally about first-or second-year composition courses, his claims are even more
relevant for technical communication.
