Chaia Van Der Aa – WRD Blog

October 26, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 511 Composing Chicago: Rhetorics of Space and Place

The rhetoric of place allows us to explore how the physical environment itself makes arguments. What better way to examine it than through the very city we live in? This winter, students can see how discourses, social actions, and more build the environment around us in WRD 511, Composing Chicago: Rhetorics of Space and Place, taught by Professor Jason Kalin. Why this topic? “My teaching and research interests continually return to questions of place, especially this place we call Chicago,” Kalin says. It’s a topic that he’s been studying throughout his academic career. “I began studying rhetorics of space and

June 8, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Event Recap – 2026 MAWRD Exit Presentations

On Thursday, May 28th, five graduating students from the Master’s in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse (MAWRD) gave their exit presentations to faculty, classmates, family members, and friends. It was a successful event, thanks to the graduates’ engaging presentations that highlighted their unique journeys through the MAWRD. It was also a relaxed and collegial gathering: There was pizza and conversation, many appreciations and congratulations, and it was an ideal opportunity for current MA students to get a sneak peek of what their own exit presentations might look like. The graduates shared where they started and how far they’ve come as scholars and writers in the program, and they presented

May 27, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Reflections on the MA in WRD from Dylan Cabrera, winner of the 2026 Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Each program in DePaul’s College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences gives an annual Outstanding Graduate Student Award, and we are happy to announce that the recipient of this year’s award in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse is Dylan Cabrera! Dylan, who will graduate in June, is a Graduate Assistant for the First-Year Writing Program, a Writing Center tutor, a hard-working and enthusiastic student, and a joy to have around. We want to congratulate him on receiving this award! Read on to hear about his journey through the MAWRD program in his own words. After dabbling in film school for a

May 19, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 360/LSP 275 Rhetoric of the Red Summer: Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Chicago is a city with a rich and complicated history, and this history still impacts us today. Go deep into one aspect of it and learn to connect it to our present with WRD 360/LSP 275, Rhetoric of the Red Summer: Chicago Race Riot of 1919 with Professor Salli Berg Seeley. Why take this course? One of the special things about this course is that it will give students a look into the different forms civic engagement can take. Professor Berg Seeley has been teaching Chicago literature for over a decade. This drew her attention to 1919, a book by Chicago poet and sociologist

May 4, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 526/326: Grant & Proposal Writing

Interested in doing hands-on nonprofit work with real deliverables? Good news—WRD 526/326: Grant & Proposal Writing with Dr. Lisa Dush is being offered this fall. Check out our previous spotlight for this course to hear about alumnus Leo Swearingen’s experience as a student in the class, and keep reading to hear the updates for this year. What’s new? If you’re an undergraduate, now is the perfect time to take this course. This is only the second time it’s been offered to undergraduate students as well as graduates (the first time was last fall, taught by Dr. Tim Elliott). This year, Dr. Dush, who’s been developing and teaching it for years, is taking the reins

April 22, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

WRD Faculty Research and Writing Recap

It’s time to check in with the members of WRD’s faculty! As always, they’re busy with research, presenting at conferences, and publishing writing in multiple genres. So what have they been up to during the last year, and what are they working on now? Professor Lisa Dush presented about DePaul’s HumanitiesX program, which she directs, at the Conference on Community Writing in Detroit, MI, this October, with WRD colleague Lydia Saravia and English/Media and Cinema Studies student Taylor Sellers-Varela. Their presentation was titled, “The Experiential Humanities in Practice: Activating Historical Memory and Community Archives.” Lisa also traveled to Sydney, AU, last summer with colleagues from DePaul, to present on HumanitiesX at the Australia Catholic University and DePaul Conference

March 15, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Event Recap: Winter Student Research Showcase

On Monday, March 2nd, folks from the WRD department came together in person and through Zoom for the Winter Student Research Showcase. At this event, WRD students Brittany Griffiths and Amber Corkey gave us the inside scoop on what they’ve been researching during their time at DePaul. They also discussed the process of funding, planning, and executing research projects as a student. From Proposal to Conference: A Case Study in Undergraduate Research Brittany Griffiths is the senior manager of operations at Brown Books Publishing Group. She graduated last autumn, after earning her BA in WRD as a fully online student living in Texas. Her research focuses on hybrid publishing: an alternative option to the more well-known options of

February 27, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Program Spotlight: DePaul’s Major in Computer Science + Writing & Rhetoric

Are you interested in both modern digital technologies and writing? Here’s the good news: You don’t have to choose one or the other. You don’t even have to get two separate degrees to explore both fields. Today’s world is full of communication-centered technologies. With the rise of AI and social media, it’s becoming increasingly important that programmers have a solid understanding of communication and social science. It’s also essential for today’s writers to have good technical skills. That’s why DePaul offers a B.S. in Computer Science + Writing and Rhetoric (CS + W&R), an interdisciplinary degree that equips students to navigate this evolving digital landscape. But don’t just take our word for it. Allie Gesdorf is a CS + W&R student who’s currently finishing her second year in the program, and she has

February 22, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 541: Composition Theory

Are you interested in learning more about the history of writing, rhetoric, and composition studies? Do you want to teach writing and composition? Do you simply want to better understand things like process, genre, audience, and writing technologies? This spring, Dr. Erin Workman is teaching WRD 541: Composition Theory. It’s the first time this course has been offered since 2018, so you won’t want to miss it. Read on to hear more from Dr. Workman on what the course will be like. What interests you about this topic? I remember my first exposure to composition theory as an English Lit MA student who had never heard of rhetoric and composition before, and it interested me so much that I ended up

February 13, 2026 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 232: The Language of Disability

Do you have a disability or know someone who does? No matter who you are, the answer is almost certainly yes. What’s less clear-cut is what disability is, exactly, and what we should do when we encounter it, whether it’s our own disability or that of someone we know. This spring, Dr. Monica Reyes is teaching WRD 232: The Language of Disability, a course that explores the intersection of disability, culture, and society. It examines how the language we use defines, describes, and creates real-world effects for those with disabilities. Has this course been offered before, and is this your