Stanford-Örebro-American University of Cairo
Marratech April 21, 2008
Cross-Cultural Rhetoric
Focus on Research and Blogs
Activity: Cross-cultural exchange of research ideas and continued analysis of blog posts
I. Making Contact in Globally-Distributed Teams.
Time: 18.10–18.15 / 9.10–9.15 5 minutes
This time, you will start immediately in small groups, at http://switchboard.stanford.edu.
Getting Started: Please type all names and emails on the whiteboard then email the contact
list to Alyssa at aobrien@stanford.edu and Anders at anders.eriksson@hum.oru.se
Checking in: How was the week? Share one event of significance that happened this week.
II. Cross-Cultural Peer Review of Research Freewrites/Research Ideas and Discuss Blogs
Time: 18.15-19.15 / 9.15-10.15 60 minutes
Instructions: As a group, discuss each person’s research ideas.
Tech Directions: Look at each research freewrite. If the freewrite is posted on the CCR
Blog, then open that page in a browser and resize the window so you can see videoboxes in
Marratech while also seeing the blog page. If the freewrite is a Word Doc, save it on your
desktop, then open the Word Doc in the whiteboard so everyone can see it at the same time.
As a team, discuss the following Focusing Questions:
1. What is your topic and what research question are you asking about it? What central question
(or questions) will lead you to productive research regarding this topic?
2. At this stage, what do you understand as the central issue behind this topic? Who cares about
this issue other than you? Team members, add your voice here about who should care and why?
3. What suggestions can peer team members make about potential sources, about different ways of
approaching this topic, or about diverse cultural perspectives on this issue?
This is what your screen can
look like if you resize the window
with blog post on the left side,
and view people’s faces in video
boxes on the right side 
Overlay the resized blog window
on top of the whiteboard
 This is what your
screen can look like if
you open the word
document of your
freewrite through the
Marratech whiteboard
Page 2 of Instructions for April 21, 2008
If you are done before 19.15/10.15 then discuss your Cultural Identity Photo Blog Posts.
Using what you learned last week about how photos both reflect reality and yet also show only a
partial view of cultural identity, doxa, and persona, discuss the blog entries as “snapshots of cultural
identity.” Again, open a web browser outside Marratech. Go to http://ccr.stanford.edu/blog review
the posts for the “Photo-Essay on Cultural Identity” assignment activity. Please tell each other what
images you are looking at to make sure you are analysis the images together. Focusing questions:
1. What do you think is the purpose and argument of the photos in the blog post? How is the
persona of a cultural group conveyed by the words and images of the post?
2. What do you learn about reality and representation? What do you learn about this culture
that you did not know before? What do you learn about doxa or cultural?
3. Multiple Sides on the posts: How do different audiences interpret the photos differently?
What cultural questions arise for your team members? What is very different and what
needs more explanation? Can members of your group create alternative arguments, or
multiple perspectives on what the photos or words might convey?
4. Beneath the surface: What do the photos tell you about cultural values, about issues
concerning diversity, political perspectives, material possessions, social norms, and cultural
values? Here might be your richest discussion since there are no “right answers”
III. Collaborative Writing and Visual Collage Activity.
Time: 19.15-19.25 / 10.15-10.25 10 minutes
Instructions: Now imagine that the members of your group will all be presenting your research at
one panel at a conference. What would the title or name of your panel be? Come up with a title or
name for your group – to do so, consider the similarities in your projects or research interests. Use
the whiteboard to brainstorm and write your name and, if you like, create a visual collage. Note:
you can be as creative as you like: use the Text or Draw functions, color, images, names, words.
Select one person to present your team name to other groups back in T217, and one person to be the
“blogger” and email the whiteboard to be posted on the CCR blog.
Tech Directions:
1. Use the white board and collaboratively write out the answer.
2. Save the whiteboard on your desktop so you can open it again during the presentation
3. Nominate one person as “The Blogger” to compose and post a short (about 150 words)
synthesis of the group’s discussion and explanation of your hybrid composition. The
Blogger, post at http://cgi.stanford.edu/%7Egroup-ccr/mt/mt.cgi
Orebro Username: OrebroCCRSpring2008
Password: ccr2008
Stanford Username: StanfordVisualS08
Password: ccr2008
Egypt Username: AUCEgypt
Password: ccr2008
IV. Reporting Back through Presentation of Collaborative Learning
Time: 19.25-19.30 / 10.25-10.30 5 minutes
Instructions: learn effective communication across cultures and develop active listening expertise
Each group will report on their group name and show the whiteboard with the visual collage.
Tech Directions: In Marratech, switch from to T217 (http://emeeting.tech.oru.se:8000/index.jsp)
Tech tip: You can click on the GLOBE icon and go “HOME” then choose Orebro; or ask one
of the CCR teachers to switch you to T217
V. Debrief at Individual Universities