Skip to Main Content

The University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee Department of Classics

Frequently Used Tools:



Welcome! » Faculty & Staff » Graduate Faculty » Russel Hirst


Russel Hirst

Selected Publications

  • A Short Guide to Business Writing, co-authored with Harry J. Bruce and Michael L. Keene (Prentice Hall, 1995).

Representative articles

  • “Herbert Spencer’s Philosphy of Style: Conserving Mental Energy,” Journal of Technical Writing & Communication 34.4 (2004) 198-224
  • “Scientific Jargon, Good and Bad,” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 33.3 (2003): 201-229
  • "Master of Science Programs in Scientific and Technical Communication," Education in Scientific and Technical Communication: Academic Programs That Work, Society for Technical Communication (1997), 29-54
  • "The Value of Faculty Internships in Technical Communications," Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 26.1 (1996): 79-96
  • "Homily," "Liturgy," "Joshua Reynolds," "Sermon," in Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communications from Ancient Times to the Information Age, ed. Theresa Enos, Garland Publishers (1996): 328-29, 394-95, 600-01, 668-69
  • "The Sixth Canon of Sacred Rhetoric: Inspiration in Nineteenth-Century Homiletic Theory," Rhetoric Society Quarterly 25.3/4 (1995)
  • "The Homiletic Style of Austin Phelps," Journal of Communication and Religion 18.2 (1995), 17-27
  • "Ethos and the Conservative Tradition in Nineteenth-Century American Protestant Homiletics," Ethos: New Essays in Rhetorical and Critical Theory, ed. James and Tita Baumlin (Southern Methodist University Press, 1994)
  • "Public Relations: Elevating Scientific Ethos in Oak Ridge, Tennessee," Studies in Technical Communication: Selected Papers from the 1992 Conference on College Composition and Communication (University of North Texas English Dept., 1993), 62-77
  • "The Sermon as Public Discourse: Austin Phelps and the Conservative Homiletic Tradition in Nineteenth-Century America," in Oratorical Culture in Nineteenth-Century America: Transformations in the Theory and Practice of Rhetoric, ed. Gregory Clark and Michael Halloran (Southern Illinois University Press, 1993), 78-109
  • "Using Visual Mnemonics to Make Instructions Easier to Remember," Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Vol. 20 (4), 411-423, 1990.

Editorial Board

  • Journal for Technical Writing & Communication (2005-- ).

Honors

  • John C. Hodges Excellence in Teaching Award, 1995
  • Jay R. Gould Award for Excellence in Technical Communication, 1989.
Russel Hirst

Contact Information

Russel Hirst
Associate Professor
Department of English
401-A McClung Tower
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-0430

Office: (865) 974-6952
Fax: (865) 974-6926
E-mail: rkh@utk.edu
Web Site: web.utk.edu/~hirst

Education

B.A., Brigham Young University
M.A., Brigham Young University
Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Research

Technical Communication, Rhetoric and Composition