Spread the WoRD, the sixth annual student conference, was a huge success thanks to the participation of MA in WRD and MA in NMS graduate students, WRD undergraduate students, friends, family, and WRD faculty. The conference was held in Courtelyou Commons on May 17, and approximately 100 individuals attended throughout the day. Attendees enjoyed a light breakfast and lunch and participated in a Jeopardy-style trivia game on the topics of rhetoric and new media.
Throughout the day, seven panels of students presented on Rhetoric of Place and Space, The Power of Text and Image, Privacy and Security in the Digital Age, Genres and Discourses of Beauty, Teaching Writing and Literacy Beyond Borders, Writing in the Workplace, and Chicago Women Rhetors: Identity and Public Memory. Students also displayed visual coursework in the genres of digital storytelling, website design, and branding identity guides.
One of the day’s headlights was the keynote presentation given by Miami University Associate Professor Heidi McKee. McKee presented “Watching What You’re Doing: The Ethics of Digital Media Production, Consumption, and Usage,” which provided a critical perspective on digital privacy and security and stressed the importance of understanding the battle over net neutrality.
MA in WRD Graduate Assistant and conference organizer Tasha Sookochoff says this year’s excellent presentations brought in a larger audience of students and faculty, and that many thanks are owed to WRD faculty for their support. Also, thank you to MA in NMS and MA in WRD Graduate Assistants Hilary Conlisk, Krissy Proffitt, and Meaghan Zang for their help in designing and organizing the event.