Examining Methectic Technical Communication in an Urban Planning Comic Book Fernando Sánchez University of St. Thomas ABSTRACT Technical communication research has relied heavily on participatory, user- focused strategies as well as “participative”, posthuman frameworks. Both research methodologies have various strengths, yet also have been cri- tiqued for underplaying the role of human and non-human agency (respec- tively) in rhetorical situations. Through an analysis of an urban planning comic book, I suggest that turning to the Greek concept of methexis – or “participation”– may help technical communication researchers bridge posthuman and user-centered investigative approaches. KEYWORDS Visual rhetoric/visualization techniques; Posthuman agency; service Learning; research methods; methexis Introduction In this article, I demonstrate how turning to the Greek concept of methexis can help bridge two research approaches within technical communication. Because methexis has most often been connoted as “partici- pation” (Mautner, 2005; Peters, 1967), I consider the term as essential for bringing together conversations in the field that straddle participatory and (what I am referring to as) “participative” research methodol- ogies to studying technical communication. Participatory frameworks have long been valued in technical communication for creating documents, products, and policies with user input and engagement through- out design and drafting processes (Dilger, 2006; Johnson, 1998; Simmons, 2007; Sullivan, 1989). More recently, technical communication researchers have employed posthuman approaches to study how nonhuman and human agents each participate in technical processes. In other words, by studying the “participative” elements of ecologies and networks, researchers can better track user workarounds and breakdowns. As I discuss in more detail below, participatory and participative frameworks are distinct from one another in that the former encompasses approaches to technical communication that focus on human agency and stress the importance of making artifacts that can be accessible to individuals. Participative frameworks, on the other hand, focus more on the shared agency between human and nonhuman elements ranging from technologies, biological and physiological factors, and spatial constraints. While both of these research models offer rich opportunities to engage in meaningful inquiry for the purpose of creating more usable technical tools and texts, putting the two frameworks into conversation with each other through methexis can help researchers fill gaps that arise from utilizing solely participatory or participative frame- works. Through a case study of the SMAPL (Small Area Plan) comic book that the Frogtown neighborhood of Saint Paul collaboratively constructed with community input to drive urban policy, I show how technical communicators can create participatory documents that also have agency to participate in public policy. SMAPL In Minnesota, city and local governments within the Minneapolis/St. Paul region must have a 20- year comprehensive plan in place to articulate city-wide policies for the proceeding two decades in CONTACT Fernando Sánchez fsanchez@stthomas.edu JRC 333, 2115 Summit Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105 © 2020 Association of Teachers of Technical Writing TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY 2020, VOL. 29, NO. 3, 287–303 https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2020.1768289