Course Spotlights

May 20, 2026 Callie McNorton

Course Spotlight – WRD 321: Writing in the Legal Profession

The genre of legal writing is an intimidating one. You see it in pop culture or in high stakes situations. Even if you are not planning to become a lawyer, there are many transferable skills and rhetoric components that are vital to writing outside the genre. Professor Andrea Yelin worked as a law librarian for nine years and also taught legal research and writing to law students at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. In Autumn 2026, Professor Yelin will be teaching WRD 321: Writing in the Legal Profession. Whether you want to go to law school or learn how

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 28, 2026 Callie McNorton

Study Abroad Spotlight – Identities@Guatemala: Human Rights & Activism in the Americas

Pictured Above: Students at the Museum at Parque Intercultural in Xela. Dr. Saravia’s great aunt is part of this mural created by the HIJ@S group in Guatemala. Have you been looking for a study abroad opportunity? DePaul’s Identities Abroad programs are “short-term study abroad programs on topics related to multiculturalism in a U.S. context, which then visit a destination abroad for 8-12 days at the end of the quarter to examine the topic from an international perspective.” WRD faculty member Dr. Lydia Saravia will be teaching LSP 200: Human Rights & Activism in the Americas in the Autumn Quarter. According to its

April 28, 2026 Callie McNorton

Course Spotlight – WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games

This upcoming Autumn Quarter, Professor Alan Ackmann is teaching WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games. From the arcade to the internet, video games have been evolving since their inception. This course has been a student favorite in the past and Professor Ackmann’s approach remains tried and true. To learn more about what to expect in the Autumn, read his 2023 interview with WRD alumni Grace Von Lehman. What is the main focus of this course? AA: The course’s main objective is to think about video games as rhetorical artifacts—they are usually thought of as more trivial

March 4, 2026 Callie McNorton

Course Spotlight – WRD 376: Field Work in Arts Writing: Food Writing

Do you like food? Do you, at the very least, have some sort of relationship with food? If so, WRD 376 Field Work in Arts Writing: Food Writing may be a course you take next quarter. Professor Carolyn Vos will urge students to “explore how physical, emotional, and cultural dimensions of food can help shape compelling narratives.” Over the course of the quarter, students will have a chance to engage with fieldwork and come to understand the intersection between storytelling identity and culture. The first assignment of the quarter requires that students go to an art museum and engage with

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 17, 2026 Callie McNorton

Course Spotlight – WRD 309: Persuasion in the Age of TikTok

From conspiratorial rabbit holes to makeup tutorials, Americans are trapped within algorithms and a constant influx of information. College aged students have found themselves at the genesis of the social media age, and while it affects everyone, it can be overwhelming to face political and social issues online. Professor Poncin Reeves wants to equip students to engage in thoughtful dialogue around meaningful and sometimes controversial topics. WRD 390: Persuasion in the Age of TikTok will address how “democracy encounters the information deluge of social media.” Crosslisted as LSP 275: Lived Civics, The Social Contract and Public Life, this course will

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

November 3, 2025 Chaia Van Der Aa

Course Spotlight – WRD 242: Writing with AI

Generative AI has been around in its current form for a few years now, but the conversation around it isn’t slowing down yet. What is its place in our writing, and in the world at large? How does it actually work, and what is it useful for? If you’re curious about any of these issues, Dr. Lisa Dush is teaching WRD 242: Writing with AI this winter, and it’s a great way to find out more. Why this course? Generative AI emerged so suddenly that even people with years of experience in writing and new media studies, including Dr. Dush,