Nov. 5 event kicks off the launch of Stanford’s new Notation in Cultural Rhetorics program

The new Notation in Cultural Rhetorics program within the Program in Writing & Rhetoric (PWR) kicks off officially with a special virtual event on Friday, Nov 5 at 1 p.m. PT. 

“Dimensions of Mexican American Rhetoric,” will feature three prominent scholars in the field who will take part in a Zoom session charting what they believe that the next phases of study and scholarship in this area might look like in the short and long term.

The panel will feature Gabriela Rios, assistant professor of cultural rhetorics at University of Colorado, Boulder; Aja Martinez, assistant professor of English at the University of North Texas; and Jaime Mejia, associate professor of rhetoric, composition and Chicano/a literature from Texas State University. The panel will explore the current study in Mexican American rhetorics and chart dimensions each sees as important to future work in the field. The virtual event will be hosted and moderated by Adam Banks, Stanford professor of education and faculty director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric.  

The event commemorates the launch of the new Notation in Cultural Rhetorics program, an opportunity for students to explore a wide range of rhetorical traditions and practices that are not explored deeply enough in university-level studies of rhetoric, and gain experience communicating for diverse audiences and contexts. 

“We are thrilled to take this next step to broaden understanding of what Rhetoric can be as an area of study, and to give students opportunities to hone their abilities as strategic, ethical and thoughtful communicators,” said Banks. “A crucial challenge for our society now and into the future is making sure we have the capacity to communicate with diverse audiences across all kinds of contexts. The Notation in Cultural Rhetorics serves both of those purposes. 

Banks added that an element that makes the notation both timely and innovative is that it allows students to design their own study with courses in PWR and across the university. It really offers students a chance to connect work in their majors and minors with deeper study in writing and rhetoric. 

Students who complete the NCR coursework and pass the portfolio review receive an official notation on their Stanford transcript indicating their cultural rhetorics expertise. 

Applications for the first cohort of the Notation in Cultural Rhetorics will be accepted on a rolling basis. Students pursuing the notation must take five courses, for a total of 13-15 units.

As a capstone requirement for the notation, students will produce an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) that showcases the students’ ability to engage deeply and to communicate about issues related to cultural rhetoric.  It will be assessed by a committee as the final requirement of the notation. Learn more about the NCR program here.

Students and community members can RSVP for the event at https://tinyurl.com/MexicanAmericanRhetoric.