Cross-Cultural Blog

Today, students are connecting three ways across three continents. From the American University in Cairo, Egypt to Orebro University in Sweden, all the way to Stanford University in California, students are video-conferencing in real time to discuss cultural blog entries and differences in living accommodations, education, and cultural values (doxa).

According to the Lesson Plan, students will first introduce themselves and then discuss their blog posts that show aspects of their culture.

After sharing their differences, they will be creating a brochure TOGETHER as a team --> and composing a visual argument to launch their imaginary new company.

Students, please take a moment to write a comment on this blog entry with your response to your experiences connecting today. Be sure to include your name and institution.

• What did you learn about rhetoric and cross-cultural communication today?
• How did you resolve any technical difficulties (we know you had some!) What was your solution?
• What was most memorable moment or element of the video-conference exchange? What surprised you the most?
• Explain your GROUP BROCHURE - how did you create it? What does it mean?
• What new insights do you have about diverse cultures or ways of working together that you can use for your future?

Thank you!

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)

Right now, students are connecting across a 9 hour time zone to discuss the rhetorical strategies that global leaders use in speaking to different audiences. There are six small groups on each side, analyzing speeches by figures such as Obama & Prime Minister Reinfeldt, the Dalai Lama & Christopher Hitchens, Mona Sahlin & Nyamko Sabuni, Obama & McCain on gay marriage, Al Gore & David Keith & Jill Sobule. See the lesson plan here: http://ccr.stanford.edu/workshops/042209.html

Together, the students wrestled with analyzing the rhetorical strategies utilized in these speeches, with special attention to Doxa -- or the cultural values underlying the oratory -- and a particular focus on how speakers handled elements of gender, race, and religion.

For everyone who participated, we now invite you to leave a reflection on this cross-cultural encounter as a comment to this entry. In particular, you might answer some of the following questions:

• What did you think of today's activity?
• What did you learn about global leadership or ways in which leaders use rhetoric across diverse audiences (be specific if you can; share something that your group discussed!)
• How will your experience in the video conference today enrich your own research project or approach to oral rhetoric and presentation?

Continue reading "Uppsala, Sweden connects with Stanford on Global Leadership Speeches" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Today, students from Stanford University, USA, and Uppsala University, Sweden, came together for a video conference to discuss speeches about global issues, including

• Nelson Mandela - statement following his release from Pollsmoor Prison in 1990
  
• Meryl Streep - speaking about international women's rights in 2006
  
• Bono - address at the 54th National prayer breakfast in 2006
  
• Barack Obama - his famous "Perfect Union" speech that addresses race in America, 2008
  
• Al Gore - his generational challenge to Re-power America in 2008
  
• George W. Bush - his final speech as President in January 2009

Together, the students wrestled with analyzing the rhetorical strategies utilized in these speeches, with special attention to Doxa -- or the cultural values underlying the oratory.

We invite you to leave a reflection on this cross-cultural encounter as a comment to this entry. In particular, you might answer some of the following questions:

• What did you think of today's activity?
  
• What did you learn about cross-cultural rhetoric or communication from this activity?
  
• How will your experience in the video conference today enrich your own research project or approach to oral rhetoric and presentation?
  
• How did you create an online group identity? How was this technologically-mediated identity different from one that you might create with a face-to-face interaction?

Continue reading "Speeches for Global Leadership: Video Conference Reflections" »

Posted by Christine Alfano at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (39) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, at 9 am in Stanford, and 18.00 in Sweden, students connected over video conference technology to share their perspectives on speeches made by Global Leaders, including

* Nelson Mandela
* Benazir Bhutto
* Bono
* Barack Obama
* Al Gore
* Samantha Power

Students discussed their responses to the rhetorical choices made by the speakers and the way the speech reflects the Doxa or Cultural Values of the intended audience. Then, students shared their own current and future research ideas before working on a collaborative activity - to present a statement on what they learned about intercultural communication or how speakers need to change their rhetoric to communicate effectively across a global audience.

What did you think of the video conference today? Post a comment in response!

· What have you learned about cross-cultural rhetoric from this activity?
· What have you learned are the obstacles in cross-cultural communication?
· How did technology facilitate your cross-cultural communication?

Thank you!

Continue reading "Uppsala, Sweden and Stanford Video Conference on Speeches by Global Leaders" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

In a second video conference connection between Uppsala University, Sweden, and Stanford University, students had an opportunity to discuss Globalization. We started by considering alternative definitions of Globalization (see PPT on the Workshop Page) and then brought it home when students checked out the shirt labels of their colleagues to see where even their clothing was from (thanks to Helle Rytkonen for this idea!).

Professor Patrik Mehrens offered a great discussion of Max Hamburger as a response to McDonald's invading Sweden, and we also examined the website for IKEA as a globalization force - bringing Swedish values (design, food, even social practices like coffee breaks) to the rest of the world, especially the USA.

Students had a chance to pick their own McDonald's website to analyze, exploring how Doxa is represented in the visual rhetoric of websites, and then, using super creativity, they designed their own websites!

Check out all the Group web designs and visual rhetoric on the Workshop Page

We invite everyone who participated to comment here on the experience:

What did you learn about rhetoric across cultures? (From sharing a cultural artifact, from the discussion, from making a visual rhetoric argument together as a team?)
What new insights do you have? (about cultural communication, doxa, or ads?)
What ideas do you wish you could continue to discuss?
What improvements to the video conference process can you suggest for next time?

Thank you! See you for the Dec 1 connection

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, students at Uppsala University in Sweden and Stanford University will be connecting for the first of three video conferences. Today's focus is on the Rhetorical Situation of Political Cartoons; it seems an appropriate topic (topoi) given that we are on the eve of the US presidential election.

See, for instance, this tiny piece of Daryl Cagle's cartoon on the election (I'm not posting the whole thing for copyright reasons):

We'll be examining a lot of cartoons from Cagle's Professional Cartoon website and also reading scholarly articles about political cartoons as powerful cultural texts that both reflect and shape structures of power.

In the video conference, students will have a chance to select and analyze both Swedish and American cartoons that are particularly strong examples of Doxa, or cultural values. And then students will get a chance to "talk back" or modify/create their own political cartoon about cultural values and diverse audiences! (See Workshop Page)

Here, we invite everyone how participated today to post a comment and give some feedback:
* What did you learn about rhetoric across cultures?
* What was most memorable?
* What new insights do you have?
* What ideas do you wish you could continue to discuss?
* What improvements to the video conference process can you suggest for next time?

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBacks (0)

Hello students in Eva's and Helle's classes,
Now that you've experienced speaking to fellow students across the Atlantic, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in a comment of about 50 words to this blog entry. In your comment, consider:

- what you learned about cultural identities (your own and others') and cultural rhetoric

- how the technology worked in terms of facilitating or inhibiting cross-cultural rhetoric and understanding

- what you found memorable about the experience and what was not working too well

Posted by Helle Rytkonen at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday, my Cultural Interfaces class had its exciting first video conference with students at Orebro University -- the first of three video exchanges we'll have this quarter.

(To see more pictures from our video conference, visit our photo stream on flickr)

To make it even more special, we were led in our workshop by John Paval, a consultant in oral expression and a Stanford Alum, now living in Stockholm. He led us through a very innovative workshop that moved students from a virtual auditorium to activities in their small groups and focused on the practice and performance of oratory. In rhetorical terms, we focused on the canons of memory and delivery, and how shifting audience influences the rhetorical situation of an argument.

Continue reading "Reflections on the 10-14 video conference with John Paval" »

Posted by Christine Alfano at 10:17 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Tomorrow, Monday, October 6, we'll kick off the first of 14 videoconferences at Stanford with partners in Sweden, Australia, and Russia - with many more connections to come!

Two classes will connect to discuss Beauty Standards, Body Image, and Gender Norms Across the Globe (the lesson plan will be linked here). Teams will have a chance to watch several videos, comment on the issues, bring up points from assigned articles and readings, and then together, as a globally-distributed team, develop a concept for a NEW TOY, DOLL, or VIDEO AD that would promote a different kind of beauty standard, body image, or gender norm.

Teams examined John Riviello's Barbie Doll Flash Animation http://www.johnriviello.com/bodyimage/barbie.html as well as a trailer for the NewBoy Muslim Barbie, Fulla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WqmCAzxUxI and then compared two videos on Altered Bodies:
Dover's Evolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U and Korea's 200 Pound Beauty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4ZGKanyJ4 Students also discussed assigned readings (see extended entry).

Students who participated in this video conference, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in a comment of about 50-100 words in response to this blog entry. In your comment, consider:

- what you learned about visual rhetoric across cultures
- how the technology worked in terms of facilitating or inhibiting cross-cultural rhetoric and understanding
- what you found memorable about the experience and what you learned the most!

Also, please share with blog readers what your group focused on and what you learned from it. If you had time to develop a NEW toy, doll, video ad idea, or op-ad concept, please describe that here or post any links / material from your group work!

Continue reading "Stanford-Sweden First Video Conference" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

This entry reflects on small group work done by students in Stanford and Sydney in an April 29/30 video conference. For more the video conference, see this entry.

In group A's research project Stanford sophomore students Michael, Jennifer and Lara Sofia collaborated with students from the University of Sydney, Austrial to analyze "The Homeless Guy" by Kevin Babieux. Surprised by our findings on the website, we decided to create a "Mind Map" on stereotypes of homelessness.

As a basis for our engagement with the blog we addressed our own cultural stereotypes and defined terms such as "the American Dream" and "Battler." Trying to demystify some of these stereotypes we expanded upon Barbieux's education, family life, and lifestyle. We were surprised by his interest in technology (he reported the use of SecondLife and raised $1,000 for a laptop), reading (his favorite books include American classics by Hemingway and Steinbeck) and his fascination with the humanities. Another area of his life that we found intriguing was his family background. Barbieux has a son and a daughter. Ultimately, our Mind map used key words to visualize, structure and classify ideas about the often over-looked complexities of homelessness.

Posted by Stanford: Cultural Interfaces at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This entry reflects on small group work done by students in Stanford and Sydney in an April 29/30 video conference. For more the video conference, see this entry.

Our group’s conversation focused a lot on the differences between Americans’ and Australians’ perceptions of homeless people. We were very interested to learn about the concept of the “battler” in Australian culture. The battler is a working-class person who perseveres and works hard to make ends meet, regardless of how difficult his or her circumstances are. There is a certain amount of glorification and admiration that accompanies one’s status as a “battler,” and we found it interesting that there is really no equivalent in American culture. Homeless people are therefore accorded a certain amount of respect in Australia as battlers who have simply fallen on hard times. We tried to capture this in our limerick about Bob.

Continue reading "Videoconference Summary (Stanford Group E)" »

Posted by Stanford: Cultural Interfaces at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This entry reflects on small group work done by students in Stanford and Sydney in an April 29/30 video conference. For more the video conference, see this entry.

In our videoconference, we discussed issues surrounding the homeless culture in our respective countries. In Australia, the homeless culture have similar stereotypical images down to the clothing they wear, including beanies, dreadlocks, etc.

We used the homeless blog as a common touchstone to see whether our homeless cultures were similar or different.

The greater context was discussed about what the implications were of a homeless person blogging. Were there stereotypes that were broken because this intelligent person was able to maintain an articulate, coherent blog? We discussed how the stereotype of the “lazy, unintelligent” homeless person because of factors within their own control was broken because of this one person’s blog.

It was fascinating how videoconferencing allowed us to bridge physical distances and have an added dimension of cross-cultural experiences.

Posted by Stanford: Cultural Interfaces at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This entry has been posted by a group of students, working collaboratively across classes at Stanford (USA) and Orebro (Sweden). The students were asked to imagine that the members of their group would all be presenting their research ideas at one panel at a conference. What would the title or name of their panel be? They had to collaboratively come up with a title or name for your group – to do so, they needed to consider the similarities in their projects or their research interests. Many groups used the whiteboard to brainstorm and write your new group name and, at the same time to create a collage as visual rhetoric for their new global team identity. See the asisgnment sheet here, at the workshop page for April 21, 2008

We chose the name current silence because three out of our four topics have to do with media and their influence. And the other topic has to do with non-verbal communication.

Summary of Research Interests:

Continue reading "Group C Current Silence" »

Posted by at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The bamboteya are mainly fishermen who have lived in the Suez canal region, and who made their living through selling to foreigners on passing ships besides fishing. They used to be looked at by the state as disobeyers. They
had their own kind of music which depends on an instrument called the semsemeya.
Due to some political circumstances during the last century their life became harder and harder, so they had to adapt to the mainstream culture in Egypt and give up most of their traditions, and thus, the whole lifestyle is disappearing into only their music culture (semsemeya) which is played for tourists.

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)

We kicked off Spring Quarter with a videoconference workshop between Orebro and Stanford yesterday. This was the first meeting between students who will connect six times, as we seek to develop a curriculum in Global Learning based on rhetorical analysis of visual/multimedia texts and the collaborative writing of student-initiated projects. We are thrilled to have this opportunity for pedagogical development and research, and we thank the WGLN for making it possible!

For this first meeting, we focused on ads as culturally situated texts. We asked all the students participating to pick an ad that conveyed strong cultural messages; they would use this ad to learn about rhetoric by working through an analysis of the ad together.

We make the assignment sheet available on a dedicated Workshop Webpage: http://ccr.stanford.edu/workshops/040708.html . On that page, students can access the lesson plan for the video conference. They also can preview the video instruction, available on YouTube, especially useful for non-native English speakers to review the lesson at their own pace, and for visual learners to see the instruction through multimedia explanation. Then, they work on the task of analyzing their group ads. The product is a collaboratively written analysis of ONE AD. You can see the results on the posts that follow this one.

But it doesn't end there. The students then continue the learning, and the dialogue, by responding to each other's posts. As teachers, we comment as well, and often the richest learning happens here, when we all have time for careful reflection and deeper analysis. The questions and answers posted in the blog can lead to new research project ideas or the start of a rhetorical analysis paper.

We are excited about this assignment, but more excited about this great group of students participating this quarter!

Continue reading "Looking at Ads across the Globe" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In Group A, we discussed a Japanese blue jeans ad featuring Brad Pitt. The ad is taken of Brad Pitt facing to the right of the camera looking off into the distance. The background features rugged terrain with a road and mountainous scenery. We collaboratively decided that the ad reflects Japan’s idolization of American culture. The ad specifically targeted Japanese men who view American men as rugged and manly and connect the jeans with such qualities because Brad Pitt, a symbol of American sexiness, is used as a marketing tool. We also noted the difference between American ads and Japanese ads in that American clothing advertisements rarely, if ever feature prominent ‘A-list’ Hollywood actors, yet this advertisement uses Pitt to embody the supposed ‘ruggedness’ of American men.

(Edited by Chun) Here is the link to the ad
http://buzznet-00.vo.llnwd.net/media/jj1/2008/01/pitt-edwin/brad-pitt-edwin-jeans-03.jpg

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

The advertisement for a Peugeot car was the one we chose for our discussion in order to ensure an equal exchange of insight among ourselves. The Peugeot ad was something that all of us could relate to.

The Peugeot car ad featured a cartoon of a man with several 'cut-out' outfits to choose from. The advertisement's main goal was to attract consumers with its versatility which is reflected in the many outfits that the cartoon man could choose from. As we discussed the context of the ad, it could be said that it depicts a typical modern-day man and his typical busy lifestyle what with the various roles he has to play.

As we analyzed the ad further, we agreed that the desired target of this ad would be the European man. Some of us pointed out that the ad seemed to reinforce the stereotype of a man as the main buyer of cars. Women/wives/mothers are neglected. This also brings a family perspective to the picture because of the cut-out of a stroller. Could it be implying that the male is more involved in family affairs?

The cut-out clothes and the almost doll-like appearance of the male presents to us a very conflicting idea because it is clear that the man is the target for this ad, but how does it relate with family life?

Members: Andrea Sy, Charity Apelo, Janessa Nickell, Shefali Tandon and Alicia Navarro

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

This ad is part of the Dove campaign, which strives to break the stereotype of the typical American woman, which is commonly seen as extremely thin. It relays American culture as superficial and obsessed with body image. The collage of various plastic surgeries and of infomercials seems to mock American culture, which seems to embrace both of these concepts. Also, the ad reveals the extremes that young American women are willing to go through to achieve the perfect body image by flashing quick images of pills and anorexic girls. Within the ad, the viewer realizes how damaging these images are to young girls, who are affected and influenced by these images at a very young age. Though the ad does reveal the increasing obsession with appearance in American culture, it also shows that there are others out there who are trying to stop this obsession from affecting future generations. Therefore, the ad also reveals that American culture is trying to change its ways.
The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaH4y6ZjSfE

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

The purpose of the diesel ad was we think at first to shock and make the people talk about the brand. It can
appeal to emotions because everybody is concerned by the global warming. this ad was reaaly controversial
because some people cannot get the humor or the satire of the ad. Everybody can be concern because it shows every part of the Earth.
The take home message of the ad is that times and climates change, but
diesel will remain. The jeans will be trendy despite change and perhaps
can withstand the test of time. Perhaps this ad is even in a sense
speaking to the durability of the jeans.
"Global concerns" It's appeal that by pointing out a variety of locations

Continue reading "Group B Discussion" »

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

Bono - Keynote Address at the 54th National Prayer Breakfast

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/bononationalprayerbreakfast.htm

In video conference with Sweden and Egypt student groups, Stanford PWR2 students were have an opportunity to discuss about rhetoric of Bono's speech. Here are the results that we collaborated to analyze first 5 minutes of Bono's speech

1. Argument - - Instead of appearing formal/professional oulook at a formal gathering, he exudes his rockstar persona through his clothing and demeanor. His more casual clothing helps make his argument relevant to all people "under God." His particular persona ("Bono") lends to his ethos as a rockstar and an activist.

Continue reading "Group C - Bono - U2 - Poverty - Religion?" »

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Our group discovered that there's a big difference between looking at an ad, and looking at an ad understanding the doxa behind it. We chose for presentation an ad Frida brought in promoting a Swedish bank/insurance company. It featured a farmer- Swedish equivalent to the American "average Joe" - resting against a haystack in the middle of a field, taking a well deserved coffee break after a morning of work. To Americans, this would've seemed a very unlikely subject for an ad. But apparently, farmers are regarded differently in Sweden. Frida explained that in Southern Sweden especially, farms are still popular, and farmers illustrate the important concept of jante, the traditional belief that one should work hard, should not promote himself above others, should downplay achievements, financial prosperity and otherwise be modest. The ad works in Sweden because viewers there understand jante, the importance of the humble farmer and what he stands for. Thus any business which can provide relief and security to such a man appears to be trustworthy and reliable. Featuring the farmer increased the company's ethos, while appealing to the Swedish viewers' pathos (feelings of positive-ness for farmer who so thoroughly personifies their jante).

~Kyonne, Gemma, Frida, Malin, & Ben-Zhen (Group D)

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Our advertisement is a web based article advertising the "Bratz Movie" premier. The article/ad juxtaposes an image of the Bratz brand dolls with an image of their "real" embodiments as portrayed by the young actresses. The dolls themselves however, represent an exaggerated conception of beauty (i.e. HUGE heads, LONG hair, BIG eyes, TINY waists, ENORMOUSLY pouted lips, MINIATURE noses) that we, as "rational" human beings can obviously see are unattainable. Nevertheless, the ad's target audience--girls approximately 1-10 years old--are not aware of this. Instead, the ad works to perpetuate among this young audience idealisms of beauty that are wholly ridiculous.

As an example of ethos: the ad reifies the grown up culture that all young girls wish to partake of and thus, for the girls stand as ready role models.

As an example of pathos: the attitudes and behaviors of the Bratz characters, so warm and inviting, heroic and fleckless, appeal to a sympathetic audience or at least an audience that believes in the optimism of every day life, that the suppressed & vile and can become unoppressed and likeable characters.

-As penned by Lilian Thaoxaochay, Stanford University, Group B

For the MS Document with selected text: Download file

Bratz Movie Ad

Actual Bratz Dolls

& a Random Internet Creation by an Anonymous Person--Obviously in opposition to the Bratz implicit sexuality in lieu of their young audiences.

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

We spent so much time discussing the first three advertisements that we never got around to discussing the last two. We have, therefore, included the remaining two for your perusal.

A Nike advertisement charged with cultural and gender-related issues

A provocative image with a new sense of beauty.

"This is Our Country": An All-American advertisement for an All-American truck"

Appeals to pathos through patriotic fervor

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you kidding me?
I'm drinking back all of the calories I just worked off?

This Propel advertisement appeals to the calorie-counting, diet-conscious individuals of the United States. Based on the gender of the subject that the company has chosen, it is clear that they believe their target audience is your average young American female. It is a direct appeal to pathos. The idea is that if you are tired of working out and fear gaining weight, then you should drink Propel.

It is interesting to note that while we are inclined to think of the subject as fairly healthy given her appearance and her concern with exercise and calories, it is interesting to note that the emphasis on caloric intake is largely cultural. Karin pointed out in our group discussion that a Swedish advertisement would utilize different means to give promote the ethos of a being a company that promotes health and well-being. The Swedish conception of health focuses on quality, not quantity. Organic and fresh foods are preferred over low-calorie synthetic foods. Thus, much of the appeal of this advertisement relies on doxa.

Aside from making the product appear healthy, Propel appeals to ethos by comparing their product to a direct competitor, Vitamin Water. Propel appears to be much healthier, particularly when combined with the citation of exact numbers in an appeal to logos. Propel knows that it takes 2640 steps to work off all the calories accumulated from drinking Vitamin water, so you should trust them when they tell you they have the better product.

Comment if you have more thoughts on this advertisement!

-East and West
(Liese, Vonn, Rahul, Karin, Karen)

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

discussed overall impressions of film;

questions 3 and 4- different governmental structures in USA, Sweden, China, Spain and how it would be unlikely for this kind of takeover to occur in each of these countries;

question 1- rise of argentina toward 1st world class during industrialization... but then in the nineties with menem's election, capitalist-friendly policies destroyed economy, people lost jobs, and country went in debt, the takeover was revolutionary and naomi klein saw this is a good reason to delve deeper into researching this movement;

none of us knew anything about argentina's situation prior to watching this film; researched argentina's current state and found that its economy is vastly improving and also that kirschner's wife is now president; discussed most shocking scenes in the film, examined factory owner's perspectives, talked about gender "equality" in the takeover

some interesting facts- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ar.html

we had some language barriers, but overall, this was a great experience for cross-cultural exchange!

Posted by Stanford Objects Class at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

NO background to film before except for lili.
There is not really an argument, just to inform the public about the destruction of the
country, and the failure of capitalism. Present the corruption of Argentina's
politics. They need to make changes and the situation is very difficult. Expropriation

We talked about the differences in the structure of our education systems.
Also the differences in our tax systems. Carl speaks Swedish.Lana is from Canada. We discussed unions and
government in Sweden, Carl told us a story about Bakers, which he would frequently buy
cakes from,and that the minimum wage in Sweden is much higher than in the United States. In sweden they are paid to study and
get an education because it is key to them, its a greater cause to the country.
Although education is key in the united states too it is really expensive and we are
not paid to study. Lana is familiar with Naomi Klein and has seen some of her other
stuff and says that she talks alot about globalization and that globalization is a hot
topic. Carl found the fact that the workers could stay in the factory was very shocking.Strange that the police force didnt
do anything, if the people were doing illegal things why didnt the police force take action. IMF is corrupt, they seem nice
but they do not even help the rest of the world. President Mener comparing himself to Jesus and as a savior the country is
quite disconcerting too.

Posted by Stanford Documentary Class at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Background: Political and economic situation in Argentina.
Audience: Political activists and revolutionaries as well as middle class citizens.
Content: The workers overtaking of shut down factories in Argentina. It follows induviduals that got
affected by the economic policies. It also follows the political situation.
Argument: The film showed the effects of "The Model" that Menem proposed as a possible strategy.

It also showed the effect that the international monetery fund policies could have on the economy.

The film wants to persuade us that globalisation is not always succesfull. the big firms doesn't take care
about the workers. They were trying to provide other options regarding the execution of policy
making and also trying to provide a voice for the people who are usually unheard. There is an
alternative to capitalism.

The filmmakers used pathos to persuade the audience by choosing to interview families. This was
a successful strategy because it appealed to a wide range of people who were able to relate
either to the families' situations or the status of the lower-middle class citizens. The
interviews evoked emotion among the audience by showing the interviewees in vulnerable
emotional states (crying, anger, etc.) Credibility can be shown by that they show concrete events that led
to the current situation.
Basic proncoples being challenged: ownership, the structure of the workplace. Relevant to outside
context: to take charge of your own situation and challange authorities.

Posted by Stanford Objects Class at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Summary:

We decided the argument of the film was that
revolution is necessary for exappropriation. We
thought that the filmmaker presented the material in
a bias manner in order to make her visual argument. We think that
Naomi is successful in building her argument and is able to
connect to a wide range of viewers.

We also discussed whether stealing is justified when it's for the
greater good. We talked about the most shocking aspect for us and
figured out that audience are emotionally touched and moved by the clips.
Maybe this will not happen in Sweden( we are not quite sure but it seems that)
and China( in China we adopt different political and economical
system). We believe that in the US, it seems unlikely that this
will happen, however we realize that during the Great Depression
the US went through similar situations where workers were forced
to make difficult decisions such as whether to feed their
children or pay their bills.
In Spain the situation for the workers is good, because actually we have
many important measurements from the government to protect the people
who work in factories.

Posted by Stanford Documentary Class at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Download file

This is our summary that we created as a group. Charlie, Galen, Dan, Gaelle, and Amelia all worked together to create this representation of "the Take" using perspectives from Sweden, Spain, France, and America. Our drawing represents the blood-shot eye of the globalization. 3/5 of our group had no idea that the economic status was so putrid in Argentina, ergo we had blood-shot eyes. However, our group, THe Best Group Ever, found that this movie provided a medium for intellectual stimulation as to the tragedies, corruption, shifting economical patterns, and poverty in this Argentinian society that can be used as a model for the rest of the world.
OUr group had an enlightening conversation about global issues and popular culture that traversed international boundaries. WE love the two from Sweden like they are our sisters, and would warmly welcome them into our Stanford homes. Thank you, Cross Cultural Rhetoric Projects, this once in a lifetime experience with our new lifelong friends, Gaelle and Amelia.
God Bless.

Posted by Stanford Documentary Class at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Because our collegues in Sweden were unable to understand the movie in
Spanish (lacking subtitles) it was difficult to have cogent and
interactive discussion about this movie. Overall, we found it
interesting and informative, but the topic was unfamiliar to most of
us. However, we discussed our cultures, interests, and daily lives.
Sweden is strikingly similar to life in the US, and we are glad we had
this opportunity.

-Peter Shakro
-Dana Sittler
-Cristina Munoz

Posted by Stanford Objects Class at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

After a slow start, it became an interesting conversation. It was great to see the cultural differences between Sweden and the US. The technology was a new experience and none of us were used to it. The whiteboard was pretty cool.

We began by introducing ourselves and showing our objects. And then we dove into the movie. We thought the film was a good choice because it was something that neither group had had much previous experience with, so we were starting from a common ground. Interestingly enough, none of us were very aware of the situation in Argentina. We discussed the importance of the film on a global context, and related our personal thoughts and experiences while viewing it. There were side comments and issues a couple times, but altogether it was entertsining for both sides. We exchanged names over the chat to look each other up on Facebook.

The best part of our collaboration was when our conversation became more fluid and we were able to choose the questions we wanted to answer.

Posted by Stanford Documentary Class at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Summary of The Take

1. We believe the targetaudience is
between the ages of 18+
2. Its a very emotional movie which
questions its credibility.
3. Multiple perspectives are not shown in the
film, only the perspective that
correlates with the author's intent.
4. Emotional elements serve as an
awakening effect on the audience.
5. Is it right to take over other peoples
property?
6. We dont believe it could happen in the
US or Sweden to the same extent because
of different theologies that are
prevalent in US in comparison to that of
Sweden.
7. There are good and bad aspects of
Globalization.

The Oreo Pizza Group members are: Shannon Jiang, Jin Young Song, Tobi Olayiwola, Martin Thalström and Karolina Saramies.

Posted by at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This Mastercard commercial attempts to appeal to most of the American public by assuming that most Americans understand the stereotypical American values regarding baseball and father-son bonding. Mastercard, a corporation that fully participates in capitalism, demonstrates its ethos in this commercial by acknowledging that in life there are priceless moments that cannot be bought. Since Mastercard understands "priceless moments," using Mastercard for "everything else" now seems justifiable.

Though cultural elements in this commercial are based on general American values and cultural assumptions, it really only maintains an appeal to Americans within specific socioeconomic classes -- that is, typically anglo-American adults who are financially able to use credit cards for leisurely activities such as watching baseball games with their children and buying considerably overpriced American food.

This commercial relies strongly on pathos to sell its product/services to its targeted audience. The lofty music, dream-like blurriness, and father-son bonding all work to evoke feelings of nostalgia and/or memory-building that many American families tend to value. The commercial also reassures its audience that Mastercard and this "father-son bonding at a baseball game" situation unify Americans by stating that Mastercard is "accepted at ballparks coast to coast."

...Thanks for reading! -- Deonne, Sae, Jamie, and Joanna

Posted by Stanford Globalization Class at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Now that you've experienced speaking to fellow students across the Atlantic, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in a comment of about 50 words to this blog entry. In your comment, consider:

- what you learned about cultural identities (your own and others') and cultural rhetoric

- how the technology worked in terms of facilitating or inhibiting cross-cultural rhetorc and understanding

- what you found memorable about the experience and what was not working too well

Posted by Helle Rytkonen at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (46) | TrackBacks (0)

1. Purpose - selling swedish merchandise to a Berlin audience by familiarizing it to it's audience.

Continue reading "The Rhetoric of Visual Ads: Absolut Berlin" »

Posted by at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We chose to do our analysis on William Wallace’s speech where he is addressing the Scottish people and motivating them to embark on the impending battle with the British. Here, he has to motivate an entire army instead of just informing them. He is charismatic which helps him be persuasive and use their emotions. There is a dual audience- the Scottish army and the people in the audience who is watching the movie. The reason for the speech is to motivate the "soldiers" to beat the English soldiers who were on the way. The rhetorical problem that William is trying to overcome is how to make the people patriotic while knowing there is a possibility that they might die in the battle. He had a time constraint because the other army was approaching and he did not have much time to give his speech.

The main idea of the speech is to give the people hope, to motivate them, to give them a purpose, even if they die. He also tries to quell their fears of dying. He has established himself as a leader, which gives him ethos. He is also 7 feet tall and has the ability to shoot firebolts. William takes advantage of the myths about him and uses them to his advantage. He shows goodwill towards the people and wants what is best for his people and his country in the longterm. He deemphasizes any fear he might be feeling seeing as he is going to battle and could lose his life. Instead of showing that side, he plays up his braveness, his "Braveheart".

He's dressed like a true Scottsman, kilt and all! He concludes his speech by relating to and addressing his audience in colloquial Scottish saying "Alba gu bra," which means "Scotland Forever!"

Posted by at 06:54 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

1. Language- reached out to local south africans by cheering with Zulu words such as "amandla awethu" which means
"power to the people" or "power is in our hands." It was a political slogan, to boost the moral of
people and the audience. Africa has 11 official
languages, and the Dutch only allowed locals to speak Dutch (Afrikaans), if you were found speaking another
language you were imprisoned and possibly killed.
he used english as his speech language however, is because it is a universal language. After his
release, Africa added english as one of the former languages. Government is encouraging local use of
english in the education system. Sign of freedom and move towards democracy.

Continue reading "Rhetorical Analysis of Nelson Mandela's Release Speech " »

Posted by at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We analyzed an advertisement promoting the new Play Station Portable. There are Christmas lights around the entire ad, saying that "This is not an ad", but simply a reminder to buy the product for Christmas. The ad is targeting a wide range of consumers, but there is a focus on people who are aware of the PlayStation brand. Those who are familiar with this gadget will realize that the tree is made of the PlayStation buttons. Its a solution for the neglecting parent as well as a good reminder kids can use to give to their parents. Culturally, this ad suggests that Christmas is becoming more materialized, and the root of happiness is centered around the newest technology and gadgets. It seems that the Christmas aspect of the ad is secondary to the product, emphasizing more importance on the product. This ad would still be effective, even if the PSP Christmas tree and lights were not there.

Posted by at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

1) The ad is trying to create "excitement," even if through controversy, about
the PSP... and hopefully lead to people buying the product. Make
sales through reaction and provocation.

2) The audience is Holland... not the US and UK where people are more easily
offended. These places, as opposed to Holland, have a more hurtful
history with racism, and thus this ad is negatively shocking there.

Also, a younger audience is being aimed at: the woman's
shirt is offensive for older generations, but attractive for the PSP
audience age. The "catfight" is also appealing for the teen
audience.

3) The argument is that Playstation White is more powerful, perhaps even sleeker and
sexier, than the Playstation Black. Thus, people should buy it. It
works primarily though emotion, or pathos, since its main message in
working through controversy and excitement.

4) The cultural context is meant to be in Holland, where racism is
not an issue historically (unlike religious intolerance) and bluntness is much to be desired.
Controversy is almost considered 'common,' as it is seen and used so
much in Holland culture.

5) It is definitely challenging cultural norms, but not as much so
in the context of Holland culture.

Posted by at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Our group name was LUMO.

We decided on this based on a suggestion from Theresa, and it is an acronym that stands for

L - iving
U - nder
M - ixed
O- rigins

It is pretty self-explanatory. We are all students who come from a variety of backgrounds, and we are all living together and have a responsibility to be come culturally aware of other's backgrounds.

Posted by at 10:35 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

We had a chance to get to know each other and where we were all from. We shared aspects of our cultures such as our money and student identification cards. They inquired about stereotypical images portrayed in films about such cities as L.A. We asked about the aquisition of the english language and at what age it began. We learned that english is a prevelant language in Sweden that is learned by people at an early age. We came up with our name due to the fact that they had been having bad weather and we had as well. Overall it was an interesting experience getting to know p[eople from other cultures and being able to express our differences in ideas and views. The other group was welcoming and friendly. We liked the group that we were paired up with.

Posted by at 10:32 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

We picked Facebook Friends Forever because as soon as we met the students at Orebro they asked us if we had facebook profiles. They friended us during class. We were surprised that facebook is so popular in Sweden and worldwide. This common interest established a cultural link between us and we realized how similar we are. We were comfortable talking with them and became fast friends.

Posted by at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The past week we had video conferences with two students from Sweden. Ultimately we had a lot of similarities, but also profound differences. We decided our group name was going to be "The Cultural Explorers".
This name was representative of our group because we are exploring cultures! We discovered that Western expansion and advertising is seeping into Sweden. For example, American brands are frequently advertised on Swedish TV. It was also interesting to see multiple perspectives because one of the girls was from Lapland and was studying in Sweden temporarily. I also found it interesting that they watched several American television series and listened to American music as well. Our culture has travelled to their country and has become a major icon when they watch our lifestyles in the television shows they watch.

Posted by at 10:32 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

After coming to discuss various strains of gum in our respective homelands - the US, Japan, France, and Singapore - we concluded that an appropriate title for our group would be the 3G's: The Global Gum Group.

Aside from the allure of alliteration, we felt that the image of gum would exemplify both the differences and commonalities across our cultures. In Singapore, gum is strictly banned but still an object of desire; in France, Japan, Sweden, and the US, the common chewing material comes packaged differently, is sold differently, and brings along with every chew different cultural implications.

Additionally, 3G - the term for the latest generation of cell phone technology - reflects how our interaction is also at the vanguard of inter-cultural technology, evoking the promise of cross-cultural interconnectivity.

Sophie Theis joined this group after the conference.

Posted by at 10:27 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

For the video conference with Orebro and Uppsala Universities our group selected the name

NationClub.

We picked this name really because of cultural confusion/misunderstanding. It turns out that the Swedish university has social clubs that they call "nations." These clubs are made up of students who hail from different regions of Sweden. When we first heard the word "nation," however, with a slight chuckle, we thought more of a nation-state.

Afterwards, our Swedish colleagues expressed their interest in going clubbing and getting their groove on. This, of course, occurs in America as well, and is thus an example of "cultural connection."

That's the basis behind NationClub.

Posted by at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Group Name: "Riding through Hella Neige on a Sketchy Vélo"

We chose this group name for many reasons:

1. One of our Orebro group members was from France so we used Niege "snow" and Velo "bike".
2. In Sweden it snows often during the winter.
3. Bike riding is common on both of our campuses.
4. Hella and Sketchy are terms used on Stanford campus to describe "very" and "weird", respectively.

Coming up with a group name was really fun, so we made sure to have a good time with it and try to incorporate as many cultural things as possible :0)

Posted by at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Group Name: Fruit Salad
Members:

• Orebro: Robert Hirsch, Sophie Guesney
  
• Uppsala: Pernilla Andersson
  
• Stanford: Mbali Mphande, Eethar Al-Hassan, Vanessa Lerma
  

Upon sharing our different cultural artifacts as well as our diverse backgrounds, our group members realized that we were very much like a fruit salad in that each of us was unique on our own, but when brought together we formed something exquisite.

Posted by at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Group Name: San Martino
"Celebration of Wine"

When we came together to share our interests, everyone brought up aspects of their lives that brought enjoyment
and celebration. We spoke of music, movies, and friends. Thus we chose a name that conveys a shared sense of
celebration.

Posted by at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, we had our first video conference between students from Stanford, Örebro, and Uppsala Universities. It was exciting -- not only because it was the first opportunity for all of us this quarter to connect across national borders, but also because for the first time we welcomed students from three universities (rather than just two universities) into our small groups.

We decided to center today's activity on having students present their cultural identity through an artifact or cultural saying, and it was fun to watch everyone share representative parts of themselves -- whether it be clothing brands, photos from their wallets, or even local slang (Stanford students had fun trying to explain the meaning of "hella" and "sketchy" to their team mates).

During the final portion, we asked all the students to come up with a group name as a first step in creating a cross-cultural group identity. The names are definitely unique ;) Here are the names that everyone came up with:

Group A: 3G's
Group B: LUMO
Group C: Facebook Friends Forever
Group D: Cultural Explorers
Group E: Team Bad Weather
Group F: Riding through Hella Neige on a Sketchy Vélo (Velo for short?)
Group G: NationClub
Group H: Fruit Salad
Group I: Celebration of Wine

Each group afterwards posted up a brief rationale of their group name on the blog -- I hope that the different members of the groups will take some time to visit their own group posts and leave some comments reflecting on their experience in this first international video conference!

Our next video conference is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 26, and we're going to do a very interesting activity centering around cross-cultural ads. Until that time, I'll leave you with a few of my Pic of the Pix for 11-12 (you can view all the 11-12 pics online by searching ccrNov122007 in Flickr -- you can even leave comments on Flickr about the photos if you'd like :)).

Posted by Christine Alfano at 07:56 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

One of my favorite post-video conference rituals involves sitting down and scrolling through all the pictures that we take of the students hard at work in their distributed groups. Here's my vote for Christine's Favorite Pic for the October 8 video conference:

I think I like it because of the way it peeks into the room. Since I'm so often a spectator for so much of the student work that goes on during these video conferences, it's a vantage that is really representative of my experience of these intense collaborative moments.

Also, the students here are from my class, so perhaps I'm a bit biased ;)

In any event, all our pictures are posted on Flickr, for public viewing. Simply search ccroct82007 - and vote for your own favorite moments!

-- thanks to tech guru Bob Smith for helping me tweak the lighting in the photo! --

Posted by Christine Alfano at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

The World Vision logo, usually visible in anything with their name, is a star resembling both
a cross and the North Star. It is a symbol that brings hope and light to a community, and obviously references religious ties. The authors are concerned Christians, attempting to help the poor and ill in over 100 countries - mostly underdeveloped.

The website plays on ethos by listing facts on percentages of money donated actually going to help the impoverished. The layout serves an important purpose; bright orange color and text highlight specific things to which to draw your attention; these highlighted objects play on pathos - the text "children soldiers" as well as the photo of the tear-filled girl - and serve the purpose of gaining sympathy from the audience. The instantly playing video allows the viewers to witness, in rapid succession, upsetting images with phrases such as 'you can make a difference' and culminating with 'sponsor a child today.' Even the goat image is appealing visually, but it has an underlying
importance. It is the gift that keeps on giving, not a one time meal, instead an opportunity for the families to feed themselves and even help their community.

The main audience of the website seemed to be American donors, the links for other languages were not immediately accessible (Spanish, Korean, & Chinese). There is an element of cultural difference when the other websites are displayed, each contains a different lay-out and pictures correspond to the general race of the area, except in the US. In the United States' website pictures tend to be of children from third world countries. This is
because poverty in the US generally is considered nothing in comparison to these poverty and illness-stricken countries and because there is not one set ethnicity or 'face' to personify the melting-pot of people in America.

Entry by Group D:
PWR 1 - Katherine, Andrew, Carlos, Abiy

PWR 2 - Vanessa, Lleyana, Mbali

Posted by at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (37) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

This website targets a variety of audiences, including doctors, the media/press, as well as normal citizens.

The “Working with MSF” (“Medicins sans Frontieres”) section of the “Doctors without Borders” website, provides specific information for doctors who wish to contribute their skills to the global campaign. The “press releases” or newsfeed section of the website informs the public about events in the world and aims to both inspire readers into action as well as simply educate them about the issues. The donation page is also designed for normal citizens, people without the medical knowledge to volunteer at the locations in need. Even regular citizens can aid in the efforts of “Doctors without Borders” by giving their money and time in other ways listed in this section of the website.

The rhetor assumes that the audience is unfamiliar with the plight of the children and adults affected by the events in the central pictures displayed. Also, most viewers of this website would have a sense of compassion toward children in need, as opposed to apathy. Visitors to the site would also be literate enough to appreciate information containing statistics and stories about news events in great detail--they would be receptive to the large amounts of logical appeal (logos) as well as emotional appeal (pathos) provided by the pictures and prominent (red and black) headlines present on this site.

Overall, this website was persuasive in convincing our group to be activists for this cause, because it not only made us aware of the suffering endured by people around the world, but it provided ease of access to tangible opportunities for even normal civilians like us to aid in the efforts of "Doctors without Borders." The proactive and professional tone with which the website was designed added ethos to its argument - to take action instead of just learning about the plight of others without being able to do anything about it.

PWR 1 members of Group C: Sophie, Stephanie, Ming, Elliot

PWR 2 members of Group C: Evan, Nick, Eethar, and Kavi

Posted by at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

Save Darfur is an organization composed of 180 faith-based groups that seek to raise awareness, fundraise, and provide opportunities to get involved against the Darfur genocide. Save Darfur's website uses emotional appeals through the use of persuasive images and language. The focus on images of sad-eyed children and the vibrant nature of the links encourages the audience to donate and actively participate. The Save Darfur Coalition catered the site to English speaking countries. The site aims to get its audience involved in bringing an end to the atrocities occuring in Darfur through awareness and financial support.
While the organization sends a message through their use of pathos, we feel that the site would be more effective if they included more statistics and information about how donations have helped the suffering people of Darfur.

Co-Authored by Ashley, Dan, Katie, J.J., Pedro, Tara, & Yu Xian, Students from PWR1 & 2 classes.

Posted by at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

www.greenpeace.org

The authors of the greenpeace website seem to be environmentally active protestors who are concerned with empowering themselves through their volunteer work. Also, the authors do not seem to be experts in the field ecause there is not a lot of factual argument behind what they write, they mainly rely on sensationalist rhetoric. The website has a universal appeal to the audience by featuring issues in places across the world, such as Mexico, Indonesia, the US, the UK, Brazil and many more. The website appeals to audiences of all education levels because it uses primarily visual appeals rather than text. The text that is on the site is concise and
exaggerated which suggests that they are appealing to emotions such as fear. In addition, the layout of this
site is odd because it features a game on the homepage which suggests that the issues are secondary to the entertainment value. This speaks to the goal of the group which seems to be more about shock value than actual activism. This website fails to persuade us to join the cause and become active for several reasons. Primarily, it lacks any logical arguments for why we should be concerned with the issue. While the website does appeal to ethos, its lack of factual information makes it difficult to contextualize the scope of the issue.

Introducing Group A:
Steve Scheele (Seattle, WA)
Jeri Canlas (San Jose, CA)
Jannah Thomas (LA, California)
Lillian To(San Jose, CA)
Harry Zeitlin (Phoenix, AZ)
Yasmeen Abdul-Karim (Newark, NJ)

Posted by at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning, we held our first Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Workshop for Fall 2007. Chris and I asked our two classes to connect via Marratech video conference in Wallenberg Hall. It was an exciting opportunity to try out a few things. First, we hoped that we might introduce the students to the Marratech technology interface, to speaking with and through the webcams and looking for their audiences in the little boxes on the screens. From last year, we learned that students have a hard time learning to interface through this technology, and we hope to develop some best practices in this area. Eva's students in Sweden had special training on how to speak for a camera. We haven't had time in our curriculum or schedule for that, so perhaps learning it on the fly will help. Here's an image from the Marratech session this morning. What I was most impressed by was that students adapted to the technology. I saw students resizing image windows, moving the laptop closer to type then pushing it back to allow all the students to be viewed by the webcam, and going to walkie-talkie mode.

Second, we hoped to pilot a workshop lesson plan focused on activist websites. I'm grateful to Chris for sharing her expertise in the opening illustrative frame, a new techniques which we developed last year in which the speaker models the rhetorical analysis for the students. She did a fabulous job with the Care Website, taking us through how the organization targeted different countries. In my debriefing with my class, I found out that students learned a great deal about how rhetoric works from their collaborative analysis of activist Websites. They found an over-reliance on pathos (crying children, scary words), very little ethos, and appeals to money dominating the argument of the Websites. They also noticed a bias towards English speaking audiences, even in versions of the Website aimed at international audiences.

Third, we hoped to see what happens when two groups of diverse Stanford students come together using our project methodology and ICT implementation practices! I was surprised that the groups didn't actually try to go and locate each other -- although they were all in Wallenberg Hall! But they said in the debriefing that they very much appreciated this opportunity to share opinions, perspectives, and arguments. I'm so grateful to everyone for participating!

Alyssa

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

In the 60's, 70's and 80's, recording producers and engineers relies on analog systems for music production. All of these gears such as the mixing console, effects units, etc are analog based. Many expensive and big studios are still using analog based recorders because it is reliable and can produce great quality. These gears can be very expensive and only big commercial recording studios can afford.

In the early 90's, digital audio start to became popular; music can be easily created and produced using a digital audio workstation as simple as your personal computer. I believe that in the near future, singer/songwriters will not only be doing songwriting but as well as producing their own album at home.

One advantage is lower music production costs, all the artist/songwriters needs to have are the following:
a.) DAW (digital audio workstation) - Personal computer either Windows, Mac or Linux based.
b.) Digital audio recording software - Audacity(free) and other commercial based software like Pro tools, Cubase and Adobe Audition.
c.) Knowledge in digital music production - this can be practiced at home and there are a lot of websites offering free training materials in home recording and audio mixing tips.
d.) Quality monitors - there are lot of affordable nearfield studio monitors sold in Ebay, etc.

Do you like to create your own music at home? You might need to get started with your own home studio.

• 
• 
• 
• Download mp3 music online
• Download DVD movies online

Posted by Stanford: Visual Rhetoric Across the Globe at 01:34 AM | Permalink