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 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)
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 2213/HTAS 2100: Science, Technology, and Society » December 1st: COVID-19 facial covering rhetoric

December 1st: COVID-19 facial covering rhetoric

Don’t forget that you do have a Weekly Discussion Post on Canvas due by Friday, Dec. 4th at 11:00pm.

COVID-19 Articles

Read the following short articles and watch the short video below:

  • Video: Baller, April. “When and how to wear medical masks to protect against the new coronavirus?” World Health Organization (WHO), 6 March 2020 (YouTube video 2 min 17 secs).
  • Casiano, Louis. “WHO guidance: Healthy people should wear masks only when…” Fox News, 28 May 2020.
  • Yan, Holly. “Fauci says the WHO’s comment on asymptomatic spread is wrong.” CNN.com, 10 June 2020.
  • Morens, David M. and Fauci, Anthony S. “Emerging Pandemic Diseases: How We Got to COVID-19” Cell, 15 Aug. 2020.

Emerging Science

The above materials are not the last word on COVID-19. As you remember from your reading of Collins & Pinch, this course teaches about science. Specifically, we want to consider the ways in which the public, lay audiences, hears about science. You’ve no doubt heard that political preferences seem to dictate one’s assumptions regarding mask wearing and the validity of scientists regarding the pandemic. The pandemic is real. Also, early in 2020, scientists weren’t certain about what precautions would be most effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19. As college-educated citizens, you should understand why there were different guidelines early on; you shouldn’t throw your hands up and claim, “it’s just too confusing, so no one’s right.” Emerging science isn’t the same as black boxed science–science that the scientific community has established–so initial reporting might be wrong. However, as scientists continue to work on the emerging science, they begin to be able to answer more and more questions.

Collins & Pinch tell us that science can be messy. Their discussion of cold fusion underscores “science as normal,” and “it is our image of science which needs changing, not the way science is conducted” (p. 77). The public needs to have more realistic assumptions about science and not expect perfection. This isn’t a debunking of science. It is having a critical view of science, understanding the process of establishing facts and demonstrating evidence. Collins & Pinch definitely discussed science in relation to what I’ll call little-p “politics” (p. 54), but they didn’t address science and big-P “Politics,” which relates to our two-party system of Democrats vs Republicans. Little-p “politics” exists everywhere–jobs, schools, dating, marriage, discourse communities, academic disciplines, etc.–and establishes how members interact, get rewarded, get censured, and maintain a variety of hierarchies. We sometimes refer to these as the “unwritten rules” of an organization or discipline. No one sits you down and says, “these are our office politics.” As you get acclimated to your field and interact with you colleagues, you absorb the invisible political worldview of your profession.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where a large portion of us are anti-intellectual and dismiss science. Researchers found that one’s Political orientation (Democratic or Republican) influences their acceptance of mask mandates and social distancing guidelines. It is shameful and a despicable comment on society that conviction and taste, as opposed to well-reasoned and supported opinions, guide people during a deadly pandemic. Aim to think critically about information you consume; aim to understand why an expert advises us one way or another. Don’t let what you believe blind you from facts.

The WHO’s Early Mask Guidelines for COVID-19

Full disclosure: In early March 2020 (prior to the 13th), I thought the pandemic was a little over blown. I didn’t think it was a hoax, but I thought it might just “just another flu…” Well, once we returned to classes after Spring Break, I told my class, “it’s not if we’re going 100% online; it’s when are we going 100% online.” I thought by April, and we went online by the end of that second week of March. I’m not blaming scientists for giving me false information; instead, I’m blaming myself for allowing assumptions, such as “we’ll be fine” and “it can’t be that bad,” blind me from the reality in which we now live. Friends and colleagues also were unsure this was a pandemic or not. Well, we no longer have any doubt!

Watch the WHO video with Dr. April Baller. Remember, this was published to YouTube on March 9, 2020. Dr. Baller tells the audience that they don’t need masks unless they are interacting with patients. She also claims that if you aren’t experiencing “respiratory symptoms” you don’t need a medical mask, and she holds up a mask (more on that specific mask below). Another claim is that “masks alone can give you a false feeling of protection” (0:0.23). She also makes the argument that sick people should wear masks to keep from infecting others. Although we now know we should always wear effective facial coverings when around others to slow the spread of this coronavirus, the WHO was very worried about a shortage of surgical masks that health care workers needed to treat COVID-19 patients. This was a legitimate fear and shortages did happen in January and February:

  • Durbin, D’Innocenzio, and Pisani
  • McKenna, Maryn
  • Kelly Ng
  • The Lancet (The British version of the New England Journal of Medicine)

The last source above is a well-respected peer-reviewed medical journal, and the three prior sources are reporting on this emerging science by interviewing medical professionals. The advice was to save Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for front-line workers. Notice that medical experts wanting everyday people, who should practice social distancing and be in lockdown, not to make a run on masks (remember the toilet paper shortages…) isn’t bad advice. They–the experts–advise policy makers on the BEST strategies (even if they cramp your style) to keep the public safe. That includes advising the public not to stockpile PPE if the equipment in short supply is needed for the medical professionals treating patients. Also, the WHO is a world organization and needed to have a consistent policy that applied worldwide for rich countries, poor countries, and all in between.

The Critique: First, this isn’t a debunking of Dr. Baller’s advice (in March 2020) or a condemnation of the WHO. However, the WHO’s one-size-fits-all advice didn’t take into account a countries resources. When you’re immersed in a rich society (even if you’re dirt poor, living in the United States makes you aware of what a rich society is), you don’t often deal with shortages or rationing. I was an infant during the 1970s gas shortage when people waited in line for hours at gas stations to fill up, and the gasoline shortage circa 2008 barely had an effect on me. Americans don’t have the same experience of shortages of goods as other countries have. This doesn’t mean everyone has everything they need in the United Stated, but we’re relatively more secure on average than other countries. I think the WHO should have explained that in their March 6th video. A more appropriate discussion would have explained the difference between those coveted N-95 surgical masks, which should be reserved for medical professionals, and the cloth coverings that we use. Dr. Baller should have said that in order to avoid a shortage, the public should make or buy non-surgical masks that offer an appropriate level of safety for consumer needs: grocery shopping, doctor appointments, vet visits, commuting, etc.

Although this is hindsight, the FDA has a good discussion of the differences between the various types of PPE. Again, I’m not debunking the WHO or claiming they gave bad advice. Looking back, I believe they should have had a fuller discussion on why saving masks for health care workers was the appropriate policy because it was.

The Uncritical View of Early Mask Guidelines for COVID-19

In contrast to those March WHO guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised us to wear cloth facial coverings (here are their current guidelines). What this did was give fuel to the anti-maskers to claim that “no one knows if masks help” and “the scientists disagree, so I’m out.” Instead of discussing this, the Fox News article I asked you to read has this title: “WHO guidance: Healthy people should wear masks only when ‘taking care of’ coronavirus patients.” Now, this is true, but it’s misleading, and I’ll explain why. Rhetorically, titles grab readers’ attention and get them to read the full article. Of course, sometimes people don’t read the full article and re-post a headline on social media, claiming the story is over. I came across the above Fox News article on Facebook. In late May/early June, a relative of mine encouraged people to wear face masks to protect themselves and others through a post. Another relative called masks into doubt in the reply section and linked to the above article. The article does mention that the CDC “urges individuals to wear a mask or face-covering in public settings, regardless of infection or not, to limit the spread of the virus”. How could my relative, who applauded Trump’s decision to defund the WHO, not be swayed by the CDC’s recommendation? Politics. This article allows folks to believe what they want to believe. If they want to deny masks are helpful, it’s in there; if they want support that the experts can’t agree and are therefore wrong, it’s in there. I read the and, while it does provide some accurate facts, it’s misleading for these reasons:

  • The first sentence begins “The World Health Organization is recommending…,” which implies the recommendation is coming now.
  • The article is from May 28, 2020–nearly 3 months after the WHO’s video from Dr. Baller.
    • To the article’s credit, it mentions the video is from March.
    • However, why use three-month-old advice about an emerging virus when information changes so quickly?
    • Again, you need to read the article and not the headline to know that the original advice came in March.
  • The article came at a time when people were over the lockdown and wanted to return to normal.
  • As mentioned, one’s Politics had much to do with whether one believed the experts or not, and Fox News has an audience less-inclined to believe medical professionals about COVID-19 guidelines.
  • The article makes a spurious claim in the final sentence:
    The news comes after the CDC recommended last month that people wear nonsurgical face coverings when out in public after previously advising only health care workers and people exhibiting symptoms to do so.
    • This observation has no discussion and can only sow more doubt in people’s minds because it points out the CDC once had different advice.
  • The article makes no attempt to discuss why there might be competing advice from these two groups.
  • Although no article can provide all the details regarding a subject, this 290-word article offers little substantive information on a deadly disease, and the doubt it allows readers to imply is dangerous.

By the way, that relative eventually unfriended me. People don’t like to hear what they don’t like to hear. I’ve never lost any sleep over that.

Next Class

I’ll have notes on the Fauci articles up on December 3rd’s page shortly. Don’t forget you have your 500-word essay due next week–Dec. 8th. Please go to that page for guidelines.

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