This article analyzes postaccident investigation reports from a feminist perspective to show (a) how the conventions of public discourse privilege the rational (male) objective voice and silence human suffering, (b) how the notion of expertise excludes women's experiential knowledge, (c) how the conventions of public discourse sanction the exclusion of alternative voices and thus perpetuate salient and silent power structures, and (d) how interpretation strategies that fail to consider unstated assumptions about gender, power, authority, and expertise seriously compromise the health, safety, and lives of miners—and in a broader sense—all of those who are dependent on technology for their personal safety.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, Jo
. “Gender Issues in Technical Communication Studies: An Overview of the implications for the Profession, Research, and Pedagogy.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 371-392.
2.
Ashley, Annis. Testimony. United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982.
3.
Bachrach, Peter
, and Morton S. Baratz. Power and Poverty: Theory and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.
4.
Bachrach, Peter
, and Morton S. Baratz. “The Two Faces of Power.”American Political Science Review56 (1962): 947-952.
5.
Baker, Margaret Ann
, and Patricia Goubil-Gambrell. “Scholarly Writing: The Myth of Gender and Performance.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 412-443.
6.
Berg, Elizabeth L.“Iconoclastic Moments: Reading the Sonnets for Helene, Writing the Portuguese Letters.”The Poetics of Gender. Ed. Nancy K. Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 208-221.
7.
Boggs, Jennifer. Testimony. United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982.
8.
Brock, Ronnie
. “Abstract of Investigation, Fatal Roof Fall Accident, February 15, 1985, No. 1 Mine, Manalapan Mine Company, Inc., Highsplint, Harlan County, Kentucky.” United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 100th Cong. 1st sess.Washington: GPO, 1987. 250.
Carrell, David
. “Gender Scripts in Professional Writing Texts.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 463-468.
11.
Centers, Jewelene. Testimony. United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982.
12.
Code, Lorraine
. “Credibility: A Double Standard.”Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Methods and Morals. Ed. Lorraine Code, Sheila Mullett, and Christine Overall. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. 64-88.
13.
Dombrowski, Paul M.“A Comment on `The Construction of Knowledge in Organizations: Asking the Right Questions about the Challenger.' ”JBTC6.1 (1992): 123-127.
14.
Drury, Doris
. The Accident Records in Coal Mines of the United States: A Study of the Literature with Comparisons of the Records in Other Coal-Producing Countries. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1964.
15.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards of the Committee on Education and Labor
. Oversight Hearings on the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Excluding Title IV). 95th Cong., 1st sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1977.
16.
Flynn, Elizabeth A.et al.“Gender and Modes of Collaboration in a Chemical Engineering Course.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 444-462.
17.
Gaventa, John
. Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1980.
18.
Gibson, Beula. Testimony. United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982.
19.
Halterman, Carroll
, Jody Dutkiewicz, and Eve Halterman. “Men and Women on the Job: Gender Bias in Work Teams.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 469-481.
20.
Hanen, Marsha P.“Feminism, Objectivity and Legal Truth.”Philosophical Essays on Method and Morals. Ed. Lorraine Code, Sheila Mullett, and Christine Overall. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. 29-45.
21.
Harding, Sandra
. Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? Thinking from Women's Lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.
22.
Heilbrun, Carolyn
. Foreword. The Poetics of Gender. Ed. Nancy K. Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. vii-x.
23.
Herndl, Carl C.
, Barbara A. Fennell, and Carolyn R. Miller. “Understanding Failures in Organizational Discourse: The Accident at Three Mile Island and the Shuttle Challenger Disaster.”Textual Dynamics of the Professions. Ed. Charles Bazerman and James Paradis. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1991. 279-305.
24.
Hunter, Louis. Statement. United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982.
25.
Jardine, Alice
. “Opaque Texts and Transparent Contexts: The Political Difference.”The Poetics of Gender. Ed. Nancy K. Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 96-116.
26.
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources
. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 100th Cong., 1st sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1987. 243-251.
27.
Lay, Mary M.“Feminist Theory and the Redefinition of Technical Communication.”JBTC5.4 (1991): 348-370.
28.
Lay, Mary M.
. “Interpersonal Conflict in Collaborative Writing: What We Can Learn from Gender Studies.”JBTC3.2 (1989): 5-28.
29.
Levy, Beverly Sauer
. “The Rhetoric of Disaster.”Modern Language Association Conference. Chicago, 27-30 Dec. 1990.
30.
Lukes, Steven
. Power: A Radical View. London: Macmillan, 1974.
31.
Luxmore, Charles E.
, and Robert Elam. Report of Investigation: Underground Mine Coal Dust Explosion. No. 11 Mine (ID No. 15-02290). Adkins Coal Company. Kite, Knott County, Kentucky. December 7, 1981. Arlington, VA: Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1981.
32.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor
. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess. Washington, DC: GPO, 1982. 194-243.
33.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards of the Committee on Education and Labor
. Oversight Hearings on the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Excluding Title IV). 95th Cong., 1st sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1977. 554-715.
34.
Miller, Carolyn
. “The Rhetoric of Decision Science: Or Herbert A. Simon Says.”Science, Technology, & Human Values14.1 (1989): 43-46.
35.
Miller, Nancy K.
, ed. The Poetics of Gender. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
36.
Mullett, Sheila
. “Shifting Perspective: A New Approach to Ethics.”Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Methods and Morals. Ed. Lorraine Code, Sheila Mullett, and Christine Overall. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. 109-126.
37.
Nelkin, Dorothy
, ed. The Language of Risk. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989.
38.
Perrow, Charles
. Normal Accidents. New York: Basic Books, 1984.
39.
Petroski, Henry
. To Engineer Is Human. New York: St. Martin, 1985.
40.
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources
. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 100th Cong., 1st sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1987. 222-223.
41.
Sauer, Beverly
. “The Engineer as Rational Man: The Problem of Imminent Danger in Non-Rational Environment.”IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 35.4. Forthcoming.
42.
Sherwin, Susan
. “Philosophical Methodology and Feminist Methodology: Are They Compatible?”Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Methods and Morals. Ed. Lorraine Code, Sheila Mullett, and Christine Overall. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1988. 13-28.
43.
Spicer, Jerry. Testimony. United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 100th Cong., 1st sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1987.
44.
Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources
. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 100th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: GPO, 1987. 221.
45.
Stimpson, Catharine R.“Gertrude Stein and the Transposition of Gender.”The Poetics of Gender. Ed. Nancy K. Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 1-18.
46.
“Summary of Adkins Widows and Families and the Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc.”United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor. MSHA Oversight Hearings on Coal Mine Explosions During December 1981 and January 1982. 97th Cong., 2nd sess.Washington, DC: GPO, 1982. 270-275.
47.
Tebeaux, Elizabeth
. “Toward an Understanding of Gender Differences in Written Business Communications: A Suggested Perspective for Further Research.”JBTC4.1 (1990): 25-43.
48.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards
. To Amend the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. Washington, DC: GPO, 1977.
49.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards
. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Washington, DC: GPO, 1987.
50.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards
. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Department of the Interior. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Coal Mine Injury and Employment Experience by Occupation, 1972-75. Washington, DC: GPO, 1978.
51.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards
. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Department of the Interior. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Department of the Interior. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Manual for Investigation of Coal Mining Accidents and Other Occurrences Relating to Health and Safety. Washington, DC: GPO, 1977.
52.
United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on Labor Standards
. Cong. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Department of the Interior. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Department of the Interior. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The President's Commission on Coal. Coal: A Data Book. Washington, DC: GPO, 1979.
53.
Von Morstein, Petra
. “A Message from Cassandra—Experience and Knowledge: Dichotomy and Unity.”Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Methods and Morals. Ed. Lorraine Code, Sheila Mullett, and Christine Overall. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. 46-63.
54.
Winsor, Dorothy
. “The Construction of Knowledge in Organizations: Asking the Right Questions about the Challenger.”JBTC4.2 (1990): 7-21.
55.
Wittig, Monique
. “The Mark of Gender.”The Poetics of Gender. Ed. Nancy K. Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 63-73.
