Data’s Voice: A Posthumanist Conversation

Abstract

This purpose of this paper is to explore a communication strategy that allows for new avenues of conversation with people perceived to be non-human “others.” In order to build a strategy this paper uses the theoretical frameworks of posthumanism and Kenneth Burke’s identification to analyze the communication methods used by the character Data (portrayed by Brent Spiner) in the Star Trek film Insurrection (1998). The results of the analysis show that through finding common ground with those perceived to be “others” and allowing everyone a voice we can construct a complete vision of reality and understanding of being.