Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing

Offers a narrative history of technical writing as a cultural practice and the system of scientific knowledge it controls.

Spurious Coin constructs a cultural history of technical writing in the United States and the system of scientific knowledge and power it controls. Embedded in this history are tensions between scientific and liberal arts knowledge-making that render technical writing both the genuine and counterfeit coin of scientific knowledge within our culture. When scientific knowledge is made by scientists and engineers, it can circulate as genuine currency in an economy where communication makes knowledge. When scientific knowledge is made by liberal-arts trained technical writers, however, it circulates as spurious currency and threatens the purity of the knowledge economy. Because the stability of the scientific knowledge economy is at stake, scientists and technical writers often find themselves at odds over the value of scientific knowledge minted by non-scientists.

Longo constructs this cultural history around a framework of five intellectual trends: the use of clear, correct English; maximum efficiency of production and operation; the need to contribute to a general fund of scientific knowledge for the betterment of the human condition; the tension between the role of science and art within a culture; and a redemptive urge to purify language and standardize practice. She also explores the role of mechanical engineers in designing management systems which rely on technical writing to control operations and profits.

"Putting scientific, technical, and professional communication practices in cultural contexts is essential, and it is only recently that such work has begun. A history such as this is an extremely important foundation for that enterprise. Furthermore, the illustration of the destabilizing effects of liberal-arts-influenced communicators building economic and political capital within the realms of technological development is fascinating and illuminates the critical role that both instructors and practitioners play in the evolution of technology-driven economies. Finally, the historical sweep of this text is truly impressive. To see the evolution and transformations from the Greeks to the post-World War II America is quite powerful." -- Stephen Doheny-Farina, author of The Wired Neighborhood

"Longo has captured for her reader a history that few others have attempted--and no one has done as well." --Mary M. Lay, coauthor of Technical Communication