"You Will": Technology, Magic, and the Cultural Contexts of Technical Communication
http://jbt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/14/3/289
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  peer-reviewed

Kitalong, Karla Saari
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
2000

Abstract:

Technology is commonly described in magical terms, not only in advertising but also in journalism and technical communication. This article provides some background on the use of magical language in technical contexts, gives examples of magical discourse in technology advertisements and newsmagazine articles, and proposes a technical communication pedagogy of media analysis. The proposed pedagogy involves students in conducting diagnostic critiques of media texts and affords them the opportunity to examine critically their own unwitting use of magical language in technical discourse.