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

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Conference Presentations
    • Critical Theory/MRG 2023 Presentation
    • PCA/ACA Conference Presentation 2022
    • PCAS/ACAS Presentation 2021
    • SEACS 2021 Presentation
    • SEACS 2022 Presentation
    • SEACS 2023 Presentation
    • South Atlantic MLA Conference 2022
  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 2116-014: Introduction to Technical Communication
    • April 10th: Analyzing Ethics
      • Ethical Dilemmas for Homework
      • Ethical Dilemmas to Ponder
      • Mapping Our Personal Ethics
    • April 12th: Writing Ethically
    • April 17th: Ethics Continued
    • April 19th: More on Ethics in Writing and Professional Contexts
    • April 24th: Mastering Oral Presentations
    • April 3rd: Research Fun
    • April 5th: More Research Fun
      • Epistemology and Other Fun Research Ideas
      • Research
    • February 13th: Introduction to User Design
    • February 15th: Instructions for Users
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters More Effective
    • February 1st: Reflection on Workplace Messages
    • February 20th: The Rhetoric of Technology
    • February 22nd: Social Constructions of Technology
    • February 6th: Plain Language
    • January 11th: More Introduction to Class
    • January 18th: Audience & Purpose
    • January 23rd: Résumés and Cover Letters
      • Duty Format for Résumés
      • Peter Profit’s Cover Letter
    • January 25th: More on Résumés and Cover Letters
    • January 30th: Achieving a Readable Style
      • Euphemisms
      • Prose Practice for Next Class
      • Prose Revision Assignment
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
      • Sentence Clarity
    • January 9th: Introduction to the Class
    • Major Assignments
    • March 13th: Introduction to Information Design
    • March 15th: More on Information Design
    • March 20th: Reporting Technical Information
    • March 27th: The Great I, Robot Analysis
    • May 1st: Final Portfolio Requirements
  • 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
    • August 23rd: Introduction to the Class
    • August 30th: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Fall 2023)
    • September 13th: Verb is the Word!
    • September 27th: Coordination and Subordination
      • Parallelism
    • September 6th: Sentence Patterns
  • 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 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 12th: Knoblauch. Ch. 4 and Ch. 5
    • April 19th: Jacques Derrida’s Positions
    • April 26th:  Feminisms and Rhetorics
    • April 5th: Knoblauch. Ch. 3 and More Constitutive Rhetoric
    • February 15th: Isocrates (Part 2)
    • February 1st: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 & 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • February 22nd: St. Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
    • February 8th: Isocrates (Part 1)-2nd Half of Class
    • January 11th: Introduction to Class
    • January 18th: Plato’s Phaedrus
    • January 25th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 15th: Descartes, Rene, Discourse on Method
    • March 1st: Knoblauch. Ch. 1 and 2
    • March 22nd: Mary Wollstonecraft
    • March 29th: Second Wave Feminist Rhetoric
    • May 3rd: Knoblauch. Ch. 6, 7, and “Afterword”
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • ENGL/COMM/WRDS: The Rhetoric of Fear
    • April 11th: McCarthyism Part 1
    • April 18th: McCarthyism Part 2
    • April 25th: The Satanic Panic
    • April 4th: Suspense/Horror/Fear in Film
    • February 14th: Fascism and Other Valentine’s Day Atrocities
    • February 21st: Fascism Part 2
    • February 7th: Fallacies Part 3 and American Politics Part 2
    • January 10th: Introduction to the Class
    • January 17th: Scapegoats & Conspiracies
    • January 24th: The Rhetoric of Fear and Fallacies Part 1
    • January 31st: Fallacies Part 2 and American Politics Part 1
    • Major Assignments
    • March 28th: Nineteen Eighty-Four
    • March 7th: Fascism Part 3
    • May 2nd: The Satanic Panic Part II
      • Rhetoric of Fear and Job Losses
  • Intercultural Communication on the Amalfi Coast
    • Pedagogical Theory for Study Abroad
  • LBST 2213-110: Science, Technology, and Society
    • August 22nd: Science and Technology from a Humanistic Perspective
    • August 24th: Science and Technology, a Humanistic Approach
    • August 29th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • August 31st: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • December 5th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • November 14th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 16th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 21st: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 28th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ch. 17-Ch. 24
    • November 30th: Violence in Video Games
    • November 7th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes Ch. 1-17
    • November 9th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes, Ch. 18-26
    • October 12th: Lies Economics Tells
    • October 17th: Brief Histories of Medicine, Salerno, and Galen
    • October 19th: Politicizing Science and Medicine
    • October 24th: COVID-19 Facial Covering Rhetoric
    • October 26th: Wells, H. G. Time Machine. Ch. 1-5
    • October 31st: Wells, H. G. The Time Machine Ch. 6-The End
    • October 3rd: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 12th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 19th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Prefaces and Ch. 1
    • September 26th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 2
    • September 28th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • September 7th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 5 and 6
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • April 13th: Virtually ‘Real’ Environments
    • April 20th: Rhetoric/Composition Defines New Media
    • April 27th: Sub/Cultural Politics, Hegemony, and Agency
    • April 6th: Capitalist Realism
    • 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)
    • March 16th: Identity Politics
    • March 23rd: Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality
    • March 2nd: Foundational Thinkers in Cultural Studies
    • March 30th: Hyperreality
    • March 9th: Globalization & Postmodernism
    • May 4th: Wrapping Up The Semester
      • Jodi Dean “The The Illusion of Democracy” & “Communicative Capitalism”
      • Social Construction of Sexuality
  • Science Fiction and American Culture
    • Assignments for Science Fiction and American Culture
    • August 21: Introduction to to “Science Fiction and American Culture”
    • August 23: More Introduction
    • August 28: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • August 30th: Robots and Zombies
    • September 11th: William Gibson, Part I
    • September 13th: William Gibson, Part II
    • September 18: The Matrix (1999)
    • September 20: Hackers (1995)
    • September 25: Firefly and Black Mirror
    • September 27th: All Systems Red
    • September 6th: Alien Other and Worlds Beyond
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • A Practical Editing Situation
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Fordism/Taylorism
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • How to Lie with Statistics
    • Isaac Asimov’s “A Cult of Ignorance”
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • 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
  • Video Games & American Culture
    • April 14th: Phallocentrism
    • April 21st: Video Games and Neoliberalism
    • April 7th: Video Games and Conquest
    • Assignments for Video Games & American Culture
    • February 10th: Aesthetics and Culture
    • February 17th: Narrative and Catharsis
    • February 24th: Serious Games
    • February 3rd: More History of Video Games
    • January 13th: Introduction to the course
    • January 20th: Introduction to Video Game Studies
    • January 27th: Games & Culture
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
    • March 24th: Realism, Interpretation(s), and Meaning Making
    • March 31st: Feminist Perspectives and Politics
    • March 3rd: Risky Business?

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 255F
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
ENGL/COMM/WRDS: The Rhetoric of Fear » April 25th: The Satanic Panic

April 25th: The Satanic Panic

I should have commented (or almost finished) on your Rhetoric of Fear Analysis Essays (DUE 5/03–one extra day). Please remember to review both the summative comments AND the annotations.

Plan for the Day

  • Madison leads class discussion on The Satanic Panic (PowerPoint)
  • “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” 1960
  • Any Other Leftover McCarthyism Stuff
  • The Link between Red Scares and the Satanic Panic
  • Yuhas, Alan. “It’s Time to Revisit the Satanic Panic.”
  • 20/20: “The Devil Worshippers” Parts 1, 2, 3
  • Possible Writing Lesson

“The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” 1960

I’ve got notes written down, but maybe we can check out a few scenes. Did anyone watch the 2003 remake? At this point, you must have plenty to say about fear and conformity and the ear of not conforming!

Linking Red Scares and the Satanic Panic

Although I didn’t assign this article, you may find John Brackett’s “Satan, Subliminals, and Suicide” (full citation below) fascinating. Brackett points out the none other than racist Jesse Helms, who claimed to not want the Federal Government to recognize MLK, Jr. Day as a holiday, amended a bill to release funds for Hurricane Gloria:

No funds appropriated under this act shall be used to grant, maintain, or allow tax exemption to any cult, organization, or other group that has a purpose or that has any interest in the promoting of satanism or witchcraft: provided that for the purposes of this section, “satanism” is defined as the worship of Satan or the powers of evil and “witchcraft” is defined as the use of powers derived from evil spirits, the use of sorcery, or the use of supernatural powers with malicious intent.

HR 3036, 99th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 131, 26 Sept 1985): S 25077–25080, p. 26. (opens on p. 26)

Helms even wrote a letter (17 June 1985) to then Secretary of Treasury James A. Baker, III asking him about tax-exempt status for a particular religious organization, but it’s not clear which one (p. 29). He also wrote to Baker’s predecessor, Don Regan [re-gan], in 1983 about his concerns of the IRS providing tempt-exempt status to satanic cults. Results of Jesse Helms’s NC Senate victories–his 1996 victory is very telling of how right North Carolina had turned. Remember, I’m a rhetorician and not a political scientist, so you have to be in class to understand why the results are significant in the context we’re discussing.

Brackett points out some interesting parallels to the Red Scare:

  • p. 274: Citing Jerome L. Himmelstein’s work–“…the shared ideology of the New Christian Right included (1) the belief in the economic benefits and inevitable prosperity that would result from a market that is free of government interference and regulation; (2) the need for a shared set of traditional values to combat the perceived “moral decay” brought about by secular humanist teachings and liberal government policies; and (3) the need to rid the world of Communism.
    • Also, “New Right identifies the same enemy within each area of concern; economic, social, and national security problems equally are blamed on liberals operating through the federal government.”
    • What parallels does this have with McCarthy?
  • p. 275: “For religiously devout people sympathetic to the political and cultural revolution led by the New Christian Right in the 1980s, the reports of satanic activity would have been understood as another example of how the “evil” influence of secular humanism was contributing to the moral decline of America” (qtd. in Brackett 275)–check out the Purdue OWL for citing indirect sources.

Yuhas, Alan. “It’s Time to Revisit the Satanic Panic.”

This article is a preview for the podcast I’m having you listen to for next week: You’re Wrong About. “The Satanic Panic.” 2 May 2018. WARNING: the podcast references sexual assault. Here are some areas to consider:

  • para. 4: “Ken Lanning, a former F.B.I. agent….’When people get emotionally involved in an issue, common sense and reason go out the window. People believe what they want and need to believe.'”
  • para. 7: “And after decades of denial, the public was starting to confront the problem of sexual abuse, especially involving children.”
  • para. 9: “Sarah Marshall, a host of the history podcast You’re Wrong About. “What readers heard, she said, was, ‘Don’t look in the mirror, the call is not coming from inside the house — the satanists are the problem.'”
    • Think back to our discussions on psychoanalysis and horror. The demon within…
  • para. 12: “Please question your child to see if he or she has been a witness to any crime or if she has been a victim.”
  • para. 14: “therapists…often asking leading and suggestive questions.”
  • para. 18: Anna Merlan–“Very credible-seeming people were saying: ‘Occult ritual abuse is all around you. We’ve seen it and the signs are visible if you know how to look for it.'”
  • Think about the ethos of particular pillars of the community: politicians, preachers, police, etc. How does that help influence these fantastical beliefs?
  • para. 29: Procter & Gamble “The company began a two-decade campaign to defend its name, sending representatives to churches, filing lawsuits, and pursuing court cases as recently as 2007. It also changed its logo.”

In the end, millions spent on useless litigation, and many came forward that they fabricated their stories of ritual abuse. If we have time, we can watch these:

  • McMartin Preschool: Anatomy of a Panic | Retro Report | The New York Times
  • Church Chat
  • Jesus Camp (2006)

20/20: “The Devil Worshippers,” 16 May 1985 {Parts 1, 2, 3}

Sorry for the spoiler, but this news story was 99% fake news…maybe Trump’s on to something. Here’s a general timeline of the Satanic Panic (aka. Satanic Scare). You’ll notice that 20/20 “journalist” Geraldo Rivera eventually apologized for his fear mongering.

  • Mike Warnke: Debunked Former Satanist
  • Legacy of Satanic Panic to QAnon…
  • Michelle Remembers

Works Cited

Brackett, John. “Satan, Subliminals, and Suicide: The Formation and Development of an Antirock Discourse in the United States during the 1980s.” American Music, vol. 36, no. 3, Fall 2018, pp. 271-302. JSTOR (opens if signed into Atkins)

Himmelstein, Jerome L. “The New Right,” in The New Christian Right, ed. R. C. Liebman and R. Wuthnow, Aldine, 1983, 13-30.

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