Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Toscano, Aaron, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of English

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 2116-083: Introduction to Technical Communication
    • ENGL 2116 sec. 083 Major Assignments (Summer 2020)
      • Final Portfolio Requirements
      • Oral Presentations
    • June 11th: Continue with I, Robot
    • June 15th: Ethics and Perspective Discussion
      • Ethical Dilemmas for Homework
      • Ethical Dilemmas to Ponder
      • Mapping Our Personal Ethics
    • June 16th: More on Ethics
    • June 1st: Effective Documents for Users
    • June 2nd: Final Project and Research Discussion
      • Epistemology and Other Fun Research Ideas
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters Better
      • Research
    • June 3rd: Technology in a Social Context
    • June 8th: Information Design and Visuals
    • June 9th: Proposals, Marketing, and Rhetoric
    • May 18th: Introduction to the course
    • May 19th: Critical Technological Awareness
    • May 20th: Audience, Purpose, and General Introduction
    • May 21st: Résumé Stuff
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters More Effective
      • Peter Profit’s Cover Letter
    • May 25th: More Resume Stuff
    • May 26th: Plain Language and Prose Revision
      • Euphemisms
      • Prose Practice for Next Class
      • Prose Revision Assignment
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
      • Sentence Clarity
    • May 27th: More on Plain Language
    • May 28th: Review Prose Revision
  • ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing
    • August 21st: Introduction to the Course
      • Rhetorical Principles of Information Design
    • August 28th: Introduction to Information Design
      • Prejudice and Rhetoric
      • Robin Williams’s Principles of Design
    • Classmates Webpages (Fall 2017)
    • December 4th: Presentations
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)
    • November 13th: More on Color
      • Designing with Color
      • Important Images
    • November 20th: Extra-Textual Elements
    • November 27th: Presentation/Portfolio Workshop
    • November 6th: In Living Color
    • October 16th: Type Fever
      • Typography
    • October 23rd: More on Type
    • October 2nd: MIDTERM FUN!!!
    • October 30th: Working with Graphics
      • Beerknurd Calendar 2018
    • September 11th: Talking about Design without Using “Thingy”
      • Theory, theory, practice
    • September 18th: The Whole Document
    • September 25th: Page Design
  • ENGL 4183/5183: Editing with Digital Technologies
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • February 17th: Verb is the Word!
    • February 24th: Coordination and Subordination
      • A Practical Editing Situation
    • February 3rd: I’m in Love with the Shape of You(r Sentences)
    • January 20th: Introduction to the Course
    • January 27th: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Spring 2021)
    • March 3rd: Form and Function
  • ENGL 4275: Rhetoric of Technology
    • April 13th: Authorities in Science and Technology
    • April 15th: Articles on Violence in Video Games
    • April 20th: Presentations
    • April 6th: Technology in the home
    • April 8th: Writing Discussion
    • Assignments for ENGL 4275
    • February 10th: Religion of Technology Part 3 of 3
    • February 12th: Is Love a Technology?
    • February 17th: Technology and Gender
    • February 19th: Technology and Expediency
    • February 24th: Semester Review
    • February 3rd: Religion of Technology Part 1 of 3
    • February 5th: Religion of Technology Part 2 of 3
    • January 13th: Technology and Meaning, a Humanist perspective
    • January 15th: Technology and Democracy
    • January 22nd: The Politics of Technology
    • January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking
    • January 29th: Technology and Postmodernism
    • January 8th: Introduction to the Course
    • March 11th: Writing and Other Fun
    • March 16th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 1 of 2
    • March 18th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 2 of 2
    • March 23rd: Inception (2010)
    • March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion
    • March 30th & April 1st: Count Zero
    • March 9th: William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984)
  • ENGL 4750-090 & ENGL 5050-092 Video Games & Culture
    • Assignments for Video Games & Culture
    • August 25th: Introduction to the Course
    • November 10th: Aggression & Addiction
    • November 3rd: Moral Panics and Health Risks
    • October 13th: Narrative, ludology, f(r)iction
    • October 20th: Serious Games
    • October 27: Risky Business?
    • October 6th: Hyperreality
    • September 1st: History of Video Games
    • September 22nd: Video Game Aesthetics
    • September 29th: (sub)Cultures and Video Games
    • September 8th: Defining Video Games and Critical Theory Introduction
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
  • ENGL 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 13th: Umberto Eco & Jean Baudrillard
    • April 20th: Moving Forward on Theory
    • April 27th: Last Day of Class
    • April 6th: Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition
      • What is Postmodernism?
    • February 10th: St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
      • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • February 17th: Knoblauch on Magical and Ontological Rhetoric
    • February 24th: Rene Descartes’ Discourse on Method
    • February 3rd: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 and 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • January 13th: Introduction to Class
    • January 27th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 16th: Friedrich Nietzsche
    • March 23rd: Mythologies and Meaning of Meaning (part 2)
    • March 30th: Derrida’s (refusal to have) Positions
    • March 9th: Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • LBST 2212-124, 125, 126, & 127
    • August 21st: Introduction to Class
    • August 23rd: Humanistic Approach to Science Fiction
    • August 26th: Robots and Zombies
    • August 28th: Futurism, an Introduction
    • August 30th: R. A. Lafferty “Slow Tuesday Night” (1965)
    • December 2nd: Technological Augmentation
    • December 4th: Posthumanism
    • November 11th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2)
    • November 13th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2 con’t)
    • November 18th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 1)
      • More Questions than Answers
    • November 1st: Games Reality Plays (part II)
    • November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)
    • November 6th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 1)
    • October 14th: More Autonomous Fun
    • October 16th: Autonomous Conclusion
    • October 21st: Sci Fi in the Domestic Sphere
    • October 23rd: Social Aphasia
    • October 25th: Dust in the Wind
    • October 28th: Gender Liminality and Roles
    • October 2nd: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • October 30th: Games Reality Plays (part I)
    • October 9th: Approaching Autonomous
      • Analyzing Prose in Autonomous
    • September 11th: The Time Machine
    • September 16th: The Alien Other
    • September 18th: Post-apocalyptic Worlds
    • September 20th: Dystopian Visions
    • September 23rd: World’s Beyond
    • September 25th: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • September 30th: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • September 4th: Science Fiction and Social Breakdown
      • More on Ellison
      • More on Forster
    • September 9th: The Time Machine
  • LBST 2213/HTAS 2100: Science, Technology, and Society
    • December 10th: Violence in Video Games
    • December 15th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • December 1st: COVID-19 facial covering rhetoric
    • December 3rd: COVID-19 Transmission and Pandemics
    • December 8th: 500-word Essay
    • November 10th: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 12th: Frankenstein (1818) Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 17th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 19th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 17-Ch. 24
    • November 3rd: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 1-17
    • November 5th: Planet of the Apes (1964) Ch. 18-26
    • October 13th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • October 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • October 1st: The Golem at Large Introduction & Ch. 1
    • October 22nd: The Time Machine
    • October 29th: H.G. Wells and Adaptations
    • October 6th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology) Ch. 2
    • October 8th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 3 & 4
    • September 10th: Science and Technology, a Humanistic Approach
    • September 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • September 17th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • September 22nd: Collins & Pinch Ch. 5 & 6
    • September 24th: Collins & Pinch Ch. 7 & Conclusion
    • September 29th: Test 1
    • September 8th: Introduction to Class
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • February 16: Misunderstanding the Internet
    • February 23rd: Our Public Sphere and the Media
    • February 2nd: Introduction to Cultural Studies
    • January 26th: Introduction to New Media
    • Major Assignments for New Media (Spring 2021)
  • Science Fiction in American Culture (Summer I–2020)
    • Assignments for Science Fiction in American Culture
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes
    • June 11th: Bicentennial Man
    • June 15th: I’m Only Human…Or am I?
    • June 16th: Wall-E and Environment
    • June 17th: Wall-E (2008) and Technology
    • June 18th: Interactivity in Video Games
    • June 1st: Firefly (2002) and Myth
    • June 2nd: “Johnny Mnemonic”
    • June 3rd: “New Rose Hotel”
    • June 4th: “Burning Chrome”
    • June 8th: Conformity and Monotony
    • June 9th: Cultural Constructions of Beauty
    • May 18th: Introduction to Class
    • May 19th: American Culture, an Introduction
    • May 20th: The Matrix
    • May 21st: Gender and Science Fiction
    • May 25th: Goals for I, Robot
    • May 26th: Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot
    • May 27th: Hackers and Slackers
    • May 30th: Inception
  • SEACS 2021 Presentation
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • Our Public Sphere
    • Postmodernism Introduction
    • Protesting Confederate Place
    • Punctuation Refresher
    • QT, the Existential Robot
    • Religion of Technology Discussion
    • Rhetoric, an Introduction
      • Analyzing the Culture of Technical Writer Ads
      • Rhetoric of Technology
      • Visual Culture
      • Visual Perception
      • Visual Perception, Culture, and Rhetoric
      • Visual Rhetoric
      • Visuals for Technical Communication
      • World War I Propaganda
    • The Great I, Robot Discussion
      • I, Robot Short Essay Topics
    • The Rhetoric of Video Games: A Cultural Perspective
      • Civilization, an Analysis
    • The Sopranos
    • Why Science Fiction?
    • Zombies and Consumption Satire

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 280F
Phone: 704.687.0613
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
LBST 2212-124, 125, 126, & 127 » November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)

November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)

Plan of Attack

  • Office of International Programs
    • Upcoming Events
    • Study Abroad
  • Monday’s Stuff
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
  • Another Improbability Drive scene
  • Move on to something else…

More Questions than Answers

Don’t forget to refer back to what you are and aren’t learning from last class. Remember, you’re not here to find the answer…just what the question about “the meaning of life, the universe, and everything” actually is (Chapter 28, p. 181). That’s easy. We’ll jump back to where we left off on “the burden of proof” and then move on to key interpretations.

  • The Burden of Proof (if needed)
  • Interpreting The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Absurdity of Life

Ever wonder why we do what we do? Let me phrase it this way: What motivates our beliefs, practices, and knowledge pursuits? You’ve probably been in a few situations where you’ve thought, “What in the galaxy is going on? This is ludicrous!” Adams’s novel is an absurd piece of science fiction, but it’s also commenting on absurdity–specifically the stories we tell ourselves about life, the universe, and everything. Here’s a great quotation to start us off:

  • “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”
    –Voltaire [S.G. Tallentyre (ed.), Voltaire in His Letters. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1919. p.232]

Basically, this quote means that we don’t like not having all the answers, having doubt; however, if we had all the answers, having certainty, we’d be in a ridiculous frame of mind. It’s absurd to think one has ALL THE ANSWERS.

In the novel, before Deep Thought starts its 7.5 Million year process to come up with the answer to the question “What is the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything” (Chapter 25, p. 170), the philosophers–Majikthise and Vroomfondel–protest because such a quest “is quite clearly the inalienable prerogative of your working thinkers,” and “[they] demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty” (Chapter 25, p. 172). Philosophy and rhetoric are based on the condition of doubt in life.

Major characters in the novel

  • Arthur Dent
  • Ford Prefect
  • Zaphod Beeblebrox
  • Tricia McMillian/Trillian
  • Marvin–the depressed robot
  • The Vogons
  • Slartibartfast

Interpreting the Novel

Instead of writing out all the interpretations, I’m going to put up one to model my approach and list some others that we’ll talk about until time runs out. Speaking of time running out…just three weeks left, and one week is Thanksgiving Break.

Major Themes to Interpret

Zaphod Beeblebrox–the playboy president, figurehead, and powerless leader. Zaphod loves himself. He really loves himself: “If there’s anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now” (Chapter 12, p. 97). He’s an example of an exaggerated politician/celebrity who thinks he’s extremely important. Power and fame will do that to a person (it never went to my head…), but politicians don’t do well if they make it known that they’re megalomaniacs. One thing that I’ve been surprised about in my years of observing politicians is that they get into scandals that seem outrageous. I want to ask, “how’d you think you were going to get away with that?” You might recall the issues with tax scandals and hiring undocumented housekeepers by some politicians several years back. There’s arrogance to thinking one’s above the law, but it’s absurd arrogance thinking you won’t get caught when you’re under so much scrutiny.

Another one that comes to mind is the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Again, why’d he think he’d get away with it? Well, he actually did get away with it because, even though he was impeached, he still served out his term in office. What’s even more absurd are two of his biggest political enemies (Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr) called for his resignation. Guess what? Those political leaders also had rumors of sex scandals that would scream hypocrisy. When someone (like a celebrity or politician) is under so much scrutiny from the media and investigators, it baffles the mind why they would think they’d get away with wrongdoing.

Of course, Adams isn’t directly talking about Bob Barr, Gingrich, or any specific politicians or celebrities. His book uses exaggerated circumstances and characters with exaggerated quirks in order to comment on a type. In this case, arrogant politicians. Is this the only interpretation? No. It’s an interpretation, and like all interpretations, you need to have a plausible argument. Of course, you could say I’m biased–predisposed to see this interpretation because I have such a low opinion of…

Nutri-Matic Machine–developed by Sirius Cybernetics (a joke, perhaps), this machine produces food/drink depending on the user’s taste buds, but “it invariably delivered a cupful of liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely like tea” and “no one knew quite why” (Chapter 17, p. 122). Also, Arthur presses a button and the console informs him NOT to do that again (Chapter 11, p. 93). This connects with our discussion on the fact that we rely on technologies that we don’t understand the science or technology behind.

  • Instant food and high quality food
  • Convenience over quality
  • “It always tastes better when someone else makes it…”

Marvin–robot programmed (again, by Sirius Cybernetics) “with the new GPP feature” (Chapter 11, p. 93): Genuine People Personalities. Why is he so miserable? He hates life and, well, pretty much everything. He even drove a ship to suicide (Chapter 34, p. 214). Although he’s a Robot, there’s a comment on us. Consider his personality in contrast to the Heart of Gold’s computer’s, Eddie’s, personality.

Additional Topics (time permitting)

  • Slartibartfast on the futility of searching for the meaning of life, the universe, and everything: “the chances of finding out what’s really going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied” (Chapter 30, p. 192).
    • Occupations keep us occupied, right?
  • Slartibartfast tells Arthur that everybody’s a little paranoid (Chapter 30, p. 191).
    Frankie the mouse: “I’m afraid where you begin to expect that there’s any real truth, it’s that the entire multidimensional infinity of the Universe is run by a bunch of maniacs.” (Chapter 31, p. 200)  
    • This part also underscores the fact that when you get close to the answer (or the exact question) it’s just always out of reach.
    • Naming helps give meaning to something, which makes the substance, essence, idea portable. Knowledge and language, which communicates knowledge, are socially constructed.

Next Week

Ms. Rogers will lead you into the abyss of absurdity on Friday (11/22), so make sure you’ve finished reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Your final exam will be December 11th on Canvas. Don’t forget to read the Anthology editors’ introductions to these (and all) short stories. Many test/exam questions come from the introductions, but, more importantly, they provide the context for the stories and even help with identifying interpretations.

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