American University of Cairo, Egypt – Örebro, Sweden – Stanford, California, USA
|| Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Video Conference || November 16, 2009
Activity: Rhetorical Analysis of Images of Culture 2: Culture Blog Entries & Research Images
WORKSHOP PAGE: http://ccr.stanford.edu/workshops/20091116.html
I. 18:10-18:15 / 9:10-9:15 am (5 Minutes)
Location: In Marratech, connect in Örebro Room T217 at http://emeeting.tech.oru.se:8000/index.jsp
Welcome Remarks from Professors and Introduction to the collaborations
Ghada Elshimi, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Anders Eriksson, Örebro University, Sweden
Alyssa O’Brien, Stanford University, USA
II. 18:20-18:30 / 9:20-9:30 am (10 Minutes)
Location: Rooms A, B, C, D, & E at http://switchboard.stanford.edu.
Activity: Reconnecting and Getting to Know Teams in a Cross-Cultural Context
NOTE: Some of this may be repeat for Sweden & US; Bringing Egyptian students into this conversation!
1. Introduce yourselves again by name, age, place of origin, and course of study.
2. Type your names & emails on the whiteboard; offer a memory device for how to say and remember
your name
3. Describe the visual rhetoric of your bedroom to each other – what does it say about your culture?
4. If you like, share a cultural artifact, either something you brought in to share today OR something
you have on yourself (a type of pen, keychain, coffee cup, cell phone, etc), analyze and compare the
visual rhetoric of everyday objects. What do you learn about doxa, or cultural values, from your
objects? How does the object enrich or confuse your understanding of the person’s culture?
III. 18.30-19.00 / 9.30-10.00 am (30 minutes)
Activity: Rhetorical Analysis of Culture Blog Entries and research images as Images of Culture
Work through both parts of the part rhetorical analysis as a TEAM:
1. Blog Entries as images of culture (academic, regional, national):
Open a new Internet Browser Window. Resize it to fit over the white board.
OR, take a screen shot of the Internet window and past it into the whiteboard.
Then, analyze and discuss the visual rhetoric and cultural explanation of your blog posts.
There may be many different blog posts to discuss, so KEEP TRACK OF TIME.
(see Preparation Page for complete list of Blog Entries – available through Workshop page)
Be sure to focus on the VISUALS as well as the WORDS.
A. What kind of ethos does the blog entry construct for each university or culture? (consider
images, argument of words, claims made by the writers)
B. How does the blog entry use pathos – that, is what specific kinds of emotions does it evoke?
C. What argument is made about the school – and perhaps nation – through logical appeals?
D. What do you learn about kairos, right rhetoric for the time and place – in terms of what are
the “HOT TOPICS” or important events in each culture/school right now?
E. What can you conclude about doxa , or cultural values, from this blog post? How does the
doxa suggested by the website confirm or challenge cultural stereotypes that might exist
about the country? Feel free to explore and argue here a little about those stereotypes.
Page 2 of 2
CCR Video Conference: November 9, 2009
2. RESEARCH IMAGES as images of culture (personal, collective, social, cultural):
o If you have time, feel free to discuss your current or future research topics. You can either
post a visual text on the whiteboard or describe your project to your partners. This is the time to
get any feedback you might want from your international peers.
IV. 19.00-19.15/ 10.00-10.15 (15 minutes)
Collaborative Group Activity: CREATE A YOUTH CULTURE/TRAVEL BROCHURE or AD
You have been discussing differences and rhetorically analyzing differences in each other’s countries or
cultures through examining the blog posts. Now it is time to think critically about how you can create a
cross-cultural bond as a TEAM by working on a project together.
Specifically, imagine you will be working together from now on as an international organization dedicated to
student travel. As the advertising branch of that organization, you now need to create a BROCHURE to
advertise this new company to prospective students who wish to travel through Europe, the Middle East, and
America.
Together, come up with a NEW NAME and VISUAL BROCHURE or VISUAL ARGUMENT for the
company – what have you learned from the blog posts that you wish to emphasize in terms of what TOPICS
students are interested in today? What APPEALS might attract students across cultures? Are there specific
saying to use in your advertisement? What collection of images will draw students to your company?
Together, come up with a NAME and BROCHURE (or AD) for your company based on things you have
discussed today. Have a rationale for your NAME and an explanation for your AD to share with the rest of
the teams. You can write on the whiteboard, paste in images of yourselves (take a photo with the webcam in
Marratech), or any clip art you want. Be prepared to present your name and ad to the other teams.
Tech tip: To save your whiteboard: In Marratech, choose File/Export Image  save as .jpg on Desktop.
V. 19.15-19.30/ 10.15-10.30 (10-15 minutes, once everyone connects to T217)
Connecting with the whole Class
Goals: To learn effective communication across cultures and as mediated through technology; to develop
active listening expertise; to teach others about persona and cultural values; to learn from others
Instructions:
1. In Marratech, switch to T217 http://emeeting.tech.oru.se:8000/index.jsp
2. To open your Team’s image, click on the whiteboard, then choose File/Open Image
3. Each Team presents its Company Name, AD image, and explanation.
4. Listeners can type into the chat words of praise or feedback.
VI. After the Video Conference
1. Debrief at Individual Universities
2. Please post a reflection on today’s video conference as a comment on the CCR blog at
http://ccr.stanford.edu – click on Blogging, then “Read the Blog”
3. Keep in touch on Facebook and by email!
Thank you all for your participation in this Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Exchange!