Event Archives for Rhetorical and Technical Communication

In this exhibit, graduate students from the Master of Science in Scientific & Technical Communication and the Master of Arts in English programs showcase the culmination of a semester-long archival research project. Each student selected an event of historical scientific or technical significance and built a multimedia research archive around it—curating documents, images, and other materials that bring the event to life in compelling ways.

Over the course of the semester, the students explored a range of rhetorical, archival, and digital communication strategies to shape their collections. They examined how scientific and technical narratives can be communicated not just through factual documentation, but also through the arrangement and presentation of evidence—whether organized by chronology, theme, stakeholder, or rhetorical stance. This methodological flexibility allowed for highly personal curatorial choices. 

The result is a collection of interactive archives that reflect both rigorous research and creative interpretation. Each project reveals the student’s unique approach to storytelling, shaped by their interests in history, communication, policy, and the politics of knowledge.