Department News & Events

March 8, 2024 Grace Von Lehman

Event Recap: WRD Internship Information Session, Winter 2024

On February 14, the WRD Department’s Student Community Committee hosted an internship information session to help students navigate finding, funding, and making the most of internship experiences. Current undergraduate student Miranda Kincer, MAWRD alumna Natalie Toth, and Professor Lisa Dush shared about their own experiences being, hiring, and advising interns (respectively). Each offered advice for current WRD students looking to incorporate internship experience in their academic journeys. The Panelists Miranda Kincer, BA ‘24, is a Research Assistant Intern at the Chicago History Museum, where she is working with a curatorial team to write, format, and present a special exhibit on

November 9, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Event Recap: National Day on Writing 2023

Each year, October 20 marks National Day on Writing. This year, WRD teamed up with the Writing Center to celebrate, while starting conversations on campus about the writing we each do in our everyday lives. This celebration was established by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) “to draw attention to the remarkable variety of writing Americans engage in and to help make writers from all walks of life aware of their craft.” On October 19, WRD students and faculty as well as Writing Center staff hosted a three-hour tabling event in Arts and Letters Hall on DePaul’s Lincoln Park

October 26, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

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

Since the rise of the arcade in the 1980s, the persuasive potential of video games has evolved with the creation of new games and transformation of the medium. With their diverse range of messages and target audiences, video games are fascinating artifacts for rhetorical study. That’s why, this upcoming Winter Quarter, Professor Alan Ackmann will be teaching his third iteration of WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games. Read on for an interview with Professor Ackmann that outlines the class and its relevance to any students interested in media’s persuasive power. What is the main focus of

October 24, 2023 Leo Swearingen

A Closer Look: Updates from the WRD Equity Committee

In the aftermath of the 2020 killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade at the hands of the police, a collective cry for action resonated within the Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse Department. Motivated by a poignant letter written by concerned students and alumni, the WRD department was called upon to actively champion diversity, equity, and inclusion. This compelling call to action culminated in the establishment of the WRD Equity Committee. The Committee’s Goals: Since its inception, the Equity Committee has emerged with a series of goals aimed at transforming the WRD department’s approach to antiracism and inclusivity. Some of

June 6, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Event Recap: Pilsen Mural Rhetorical Tour

In May, the Equity Committee and Student Community Committee hosted a walking tour through Pilsen to explore the history and visual rhetoric of the neighborhood’s vibrant murals. The walk was led by DePaul History professor Dr. Juan Mora-Torres, whose research and teaching interests include Latin American history with an emphasis on the history of the border. Professor Mora-Torres is an editor for the non-profit bilingual online monthly magazine “El BeiSMan” based out of Pilsen as well, and he sits on the committee of DePaul’s Center for Latino Research/Latin American and Latino Studies Program. The tour began outside of the Lozano

May 31, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Event Recap: WRD Professionalization Panel

Last quarter, WRD”s Student Community Committee hosted a Professionalization Panel for students to hear from WRD graduates who work as professional writers about their lives post-graduation. As Dr. Michael Gallaway, who facilitated the panel shared, “The goal is to talk about what life is like after you leave DePaul and after you have received your degree from the WRD Department, including what kind of things you might be doing and some of the intricacies of professional writing jobs.” WRD undergraduate and graduate students joined the panel on Zoom, which included three speakers: one DePaul Career Center staff member and two

May 23, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Updates from WRD’s Equity Committee

This year, the WRD Equity Committee is demonstrating more commitment to the students, staff, and faculty of the department. Through events, a public whiteboard, grant-funded research, and additional projects, the committee is facilitating conversations on equity and striving to make the department more inclusive and diverse. Read on to learn about these ongoing projects. The mission of the Equity Committee is to create practices to embrace and sustain DEI initiatives in the department as a way to respond to the wider WRD community’s exigencies. WRD Equity Committee member Dr. Maria Prikhodko Community Whiteboard During each week of the Winter Quarter,

May 11, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Event Recap: The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project with Dr. Phaedra Pezzullo

In the latest installment of the Writing and Rhetoric Across Borders Speaker Series on April 12, the WRD Department welcomed Dr. Phaedra C. Pezzullo, scholar-activist, University of Colorado-Boulder professor, and Co-Director for the Center for Creative Climate Communication and Behavior Change and Just Transition Collaborative. Dr. Pezzullo’s presentation, “Beyond Punchlines, Deficit, and Fatigue: Piloting the Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project,” outlined her work sharing the stories of communities impacted by environmental harm across Colorado, demonstrating storytelling’s power to spark change. Framing the Presentation: Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Opening with a land acknowledgement, Dr. Pezzullo shared her intention to

March 15, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Alumni Perspectives: 2023 CCCC Convention

The 2023 CCCC Convention, themed “Doing Hope in Desperate Times,” took place in Chicago from February 15-18. Attendees joined the conference from around the country – and world – among whom were several WRD students, alumni, and faculty! WRD alumni Maddy Crozier (BA 2018; MA 2020) and Krissy Wilson (MA 2018) both presented original research at this year’s conference. Crozier is currently a third-year PhD student in Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics at The University of Tennessee Knoxville, where she teaches first-year composition courses. Wilson is a Senior Learning Designer at Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies and an adjunct instructor at

March 1, 2023 Grace Von Lehman

Student Perspectives: 2023 CCCC Convention

After several years of online and hybrid conventions, the Conference on College Composition and Communication hosted a primarily in-person convention this year in Chicago. Themed “Doing Hope in Desperate Times,” the 2023 CCCC Convention took place February 15-18. Many WRD students, alumni, and faculty attended, sharing their scholarship in various presentation formats. Here, MAWRD students Nan Denette and Maggie Rothrock offer insights on their convention experiences as first-time attendees and presenters. The Big Picture For both students, their first CCCC Convention yielded exciting ideas and new opportunities. Denette shared, “I was (pleasantly!) surprised how large the conference was, both in