Stanford University - National University of Singapore Virtual Conference
October 19-20, 2011
“Virtual Conference”: Guidelines
During this virtual conference, students in Stanford University's Program in Writing and
Rhetoric class "Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe" and the National University of Singapore
Writing and Research class "Globalizing Food" will connect through Skype as well as email
and other means. Students will get the chance to discuss their research ideas with each other,
receiving as well as providing advice on their research projects.
We encourage you to use this opportunity to ask each other for perspectives on the material
and possibility to incorporate them as “field research” into your final papers.
You will have some latitude in how you spend your time exchanging research experiences and
also, of course, receiving advice. But whatever you decide to share, please do so within a
rhetorical frame and with an awareness of the rhetorical situation within which you are doing
so. That is, bear in mind that your audience is situated in a different context, which will
include in particular a specific cultural context.
You will need to prepare your sharing on the basis of having to provide, first, information
concerning this cultural context (see the “Icebreaker” activity below), which may also include
needing to explain the character of the class you are taking; what you've been doing in it; and
how far you are until the end of the class.
To make the most of this exchange, please prepare in the following ways:
1. Icebreaker: Create a file (.doc .ppt or .pdf) with a rhetorical image of food from an ad or
blog, or a rhetorical food space appealing to a customer (e.g. coffee shops, restaurants
or food courts) from your cultural context. Upon connecting with your partner,
exchange the images and discuss the arguments the images make in terms of kairos
and cultural values (doxa). Also discuss any opening questions you have about
academic study in Singapore or the US.
2. Your research: Reflect on, and consider how best to share, information on such aspects
as the following:
• your topic
• what you have been doing as part of the process of conducting research and
finding / generating sources
• the primary sources you're looking at: show the images on which you are focusing
for your rhetorical analysis/research papers
• the questions you're asking or problems you're posing
• the argument you're making, or thinking of making
• the sources you're using
• the difficulties you've experienced conducting your research
The exchange will last 1 hour. We plan to divide you into pairs consisting of 1 NUS and 1
Stanford student or, perhaps, small groups of 3 students.
We hope you enjoy and benefit from this exchange!
Dr Alyssa O’Brien (Stanford)
Dr Johan Geertsema (NUS)