TY - JOUR
T1 - Cultivating Virtuous Course Designers: Using Technical Communication to Reimagine Accessibility in Higher Education
AU - Huntsman, Sherena
AU - Colton, Jared S.
AU - Phillips, Christopher
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PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Technical communicators are often charged with creating access to meaning through technology. However, these practices can have marginalizing effects. This article argues for reimagining accessibility through virtue ethics. Rather than identifying accessibility as an addition to document design or a set of guidelines, virtue ethics situates accessibility as a habitual practice, part of one’s character. This article describes the application of virtue ethics in a university partnership, which sought to create a culture of accessibility through three goals: to consider accessibility as an on-going process, to consider accessibility as a “vital” part of all document design, and to recognize accessibility as a shared responsibility among stakeholders. Focusing on the virtues of courage and justice, we interpret data from a survey of instructors and then provide suggestions on how others can join the accessibility conversation.
AB - Technical communicators are often charged with creating access to meaning through technology. However, these practices can have marginalizing effects. This article argues for reimagining accessibility through virtue ethics. Rather than identifying accessibility as an addition to document design or a set of guidelines, virtue ethics situates accessibility as a habitual practice, part of one’s character. This article describes the application of virtue ethics in a university partnership, which sought to create a culture of accessibility through three goals: to consider accessibility as an on-going process, to consider accessibility as a “vital” part of all document design, and to recognize accessibility as a shared responsibility among stakeholders. Focusing on the virtues of courage and justice, we interpret data from a survey of instructors and then provide suggestions on how others can join the accessibility conversation.
UR - https://doi.org/10.1145/3309589.3309591
U2 - 10.1145/3309589.3309591
DO - 10.1145/3309589.3309591
M3 - Article
VL - 6
JO - Communication Design Quarterly Review
JF - Communication Design Quarterly Review
IS - 4
ER -