I used to teach technical writing the traditional way that focused on clarity, conciseness, and correctness. Documents were neutral containers for information. Accessibility was a checklist item, something you added at the end if you remembered. Then I watched a student create a beautiful user manual that no screen reader could parse. Another created a video tutorial with no captions. They had followed my instructions perfectly. The problem wasn’t their work. It was mine. Now my classes start with a different premise. Before we discuss audience analysis or document design, we examine who gets excluded and why. I ask students…
Author: Shuvro Das
Shuvro Das
Shuvro Das is a PhD candidate in the Rhetoric and Writing program at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on Technical and Professional Communication, Pedagogy, Non-Western Rhetoric, Intercultural Communication, Cultural Rhetoric, and Writing Program Administration. He teaches First Year Writing, Writing from Research, and Technical and Professional Communication.