The Routledge Handbook of Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication

Derek G. Ross is the Hargis Professor of Writing Studies in the Master of Technical and Professional Communication Program at Auburn University, USA. He is the editor of Topic-Driven Environmental Rhetoric (Routledge, 2017), co-author of Document Design: From Process to Product in Professional Communication (SUNY, 2025), and a past editor of Communication Design Quarterly.

Introduction: Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication Derek G. Ross Part I. Why Ethics? 1. Why Ethics? Using Ethics as the Basis for General Decision-Making Keisha E. McKenzie 2. Ethics in the Classroom Aimee Kendall Roundtree 3. Ethical Considerations in Communication Research Johanna Phelps 4. Ethics in Workplace Research Clay Spinuzzi 5. Ethics in Service Learning Susan A. Youngblood 6. Codes of Ethics in Professional and Technical Communication Heidi L. Everett and Emil B. Towner Part II. Foundations: What Are Ethics, and How Do They Fit into Technical and Professional Communication? 7. Metaethics, Technology, and the Value of Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication Jared S. Colton 8. Character/Virtue Ethics Steve Holmes 9. Duty/Deontological Ethics Beau Pihlaja 10. Consequentialist, Utilitarian, and Hedonistic Ethical Approaches Mike Duncan 11. Rights-Based Ethics Kristin C. Bennett 12. Divine Command, Universalist Ethics, and Discernment Elizabeth L. Angeli and Conor M. Kelly 13. Dialogue and Dialogic Ethics Michael J. Salvo 14. Feminist Ethics Derek M. Sparby 15. Ethics of Care in Technical Communication Research and Practice Denise Tillery 16. Queer Ethics Michael J. Faris 17. Chicanx Ethics in TPC: Thinking Pragmatically About Chicanidad Gabriel Lorenzo Aguilar 18. Indigenous Ethics Emily Legg 19. Ubuntu: An African Ethics Josephine Walwema Part III. Local Application: What Does “Being Ethical” Mean to the Individual? 20. Writing Ethically Lydia Wilkes 21. Designing Ethically: Accounting and Advocating for Inclusivity and Justice Jason Tham 22. Coding Ethically as a Writer and Designer Adam Strantz 23. Ethics in Technical Editing Jo Mackiewicz 24. Marketing Content Ethically Scott A. Mogull 25. Teaching Ethically Yanar Hashlamon and Christa Teston 26. Researching Ethically Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq Part IV. Institutional Application: What Does “Being Ethical” Mean at the Institutional Level? 27. Institutional Marketing and Ethics Chris Daley 28. Ethics and Plain Language Kira Dreher and Russell Willerton 29. The Ethics of Accessible Design Sushil K. Oswal 30. UX and Ethics Yingying Tang 31. Business Ethics: Adopting an Ethical Mindshift and Building Multicultural Ethical Capital Binod Sundararajan and Tasnima Islam 32. Ethics and Infrastructure Michelle McMullin 33. Transnational Crisis Communication and Ethics Sweta Baniya Part V. The Future of Ethics in Technical Communication: What Happens Next? 34. The Future of Environmental Ethics Derek G. Ross 35. The Future of Ethics in Mobile Technologies: An Ethic of Inclusion Elevating DEIA Principles to the Forefront of Intersections of Mobile Technologies, Accessibility, and Place Brett Oppegaard 36. The Future of Ethics in Political Communication Isidore K. Dorpenyo 37. The Future of Ethics in Medical Communication Erin Fitzgerald 38. The Future of Disability and Accessibility Ethics Rachel Bryson 39. The Future of Multilingualism, Culture, and Ethics Laura Pigozzi 40. The Future of Ethics and Social Justice Chris Lindgren, Julie Gerdes, and Halcyon Lawrence 41. The Future of Ethics and Community Engagement Godwin Y. Agboka 42. The Future of Risk Communication and Ethics Huiling Ding 43. The Future of Apparent Feminist Ethics: Taking Rhetorical Action Erin A. Clark and S.B. McCulloch 44. The Future of Ethics in Crisis Communication Rob Grace and Meghan Dunn 45. The Future of Ethics in Industry: Generative AI and the Production of Technical Content Dan Card Part VI. Afterword 46. Revisiting Ethics in Human-Machine Relations: Technical and Professional Communication and Emergent Intelligences Steven B. Katz