Conversations about place: Dialogic ethics and land ethics in technical communication

Migrants as Place-Makers

“…The intervention of space and place methodology, along with considering technical communication that promotes place-making at sites of survival and necessity (water barrels in this example), can benefit the field as a whole. For one, there is a growing interest in space and place in the field [2,5,6]. Including interlocutors that aren't traditional target audiences in technical communication, migrants in this case, can not only expand the parameters of who can make place but also redefine the relationship between technical communicator, interlocutor, and place as new stakes such as well-being and survival are considered in technical communication.…”

“…Technical communication derives definitions of space, place, and place-making from other fields. Urban planners and designers are perhaps the most recognizable thinkers of space and place where the general conversation distinguishes space as a non-exceptional location absent of social and cultural significance and place as a recognizable location that to some degree is used by a group of people for cultural and social purposes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Daniel Arreola [4], in Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places argues that a space is a fixed location that has the potential to accommodate cultural and social functions for a community (p. 10-40).…”

“…Derek G. Ross and Russell Willerton [2] better frame people in the place-making process. At the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 2015 International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC), they presented "Conversations about Place: Dialogic Ethics and Land Ethics in Technical Communication, " a paper that argues that a place-based ethic, where "technical communicators engage audiences to solve problems" about space and place, can help technical communicators find better places for people (p. 2).…”

“…It's the technical communicator's duty to actively communicate with people in a place to make sure they are satisfied and accommodated. Thus, Ross and Willerton [2] discuss their place-makers as "interlocutors" between places and technical communicators-not users or customers (p. 2). Interlocutors is a better term as it gives the users of place agency to establish dialogue with the technical communicators in charge of promoting place-making.…”

“…Thus, it is not too difficult to imagine that if a water station is recognized as a place, vandalism may occur less often due to the threat of public and legal prosecution. If we look at migrants as interlocutors between Sasabe and Humane Borders, then we can see how technical communicators have considered location, migrant communication, migrant consumption, the low risk of vandalism, and frequent migrant water consumption in their weekly refill at Sasabe [2]. There is a consistent migrant presence that has led to Sasabe's stability.…”