News from DePaul University's Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse
The WRD Department and department chair, Peter Vandenberg, were recently featured in a DePaul Insights article. In it, author Melissa Smith writes about how WRD focuses on the importance of critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills–all of which are vital in the professional world. To read more about how WRD is reframing the liberal arts, click here to access the article on page 9 of DePaul’s Insights.
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A new course offered in the autumn quarter of 2014 gave MA in WRD students the opportunity to recover and reinscribe women rhetors in the rhetorical canon. According to Professor Nicole Khoury, the special topics course, WRD 511: Feminist Rhetorical Practices, provides a necessary balance to more traditional classes in the rhetorical tradition. Of the course’s benefit to MA in WRD students, Professor Khoury says, the focus on gender discourse within rhetorical studies is an important one, particularly because women’s voices are often silenced and their contributions are overlooked in conventional courses on rhetoric studies.
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How do people learn to write? And how can teachers best facilitate this learning? This quarter, MA students in Professor Darsie Bowden’s course, WRD 540: Teaching Writing, have been exploring the answers to these questions. Bowden explains that the course aims to bring together teaching practices and the theories that inform them. Her students have had the opportunity to design their own activities and assignments, often collaboratively, and then to “teach” these lessons to their classmates.
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The Winter Quarter has just begun, but the Course Cart for Spring and Summer classes will be open soon! The Spring Quarter Course Cart opens on January 27, and registration begins on February 10. Any questions? Email your program director or contact the department at wrd[at]depaul.edu. If you’d like a comprehensive list of WRD’s course offerings, visit the Student Resources page at WRD’s website. There, you can plan your class schedule with detailed course descriptions at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Any questions about what classes to take? Email your program director or contact the department at wrd[at]depaul.edu.
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This quarter, the New Media Studies Master’s program is offering a new special topics course, Social Media Content Strategy. The course, taught by adjunct professor Brent Waugh, investigates a range of social media and content strategy topics, including how to integrate digital and traditional forms of marketing, best practices for social media use, how to use social analytics, and how to maintain a personal brand. Students in the class have read timely books on social media, including Jonah Berger’s Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Erik Qualman’s Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. Class
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Best Project in TESOL Finding an Appropriate Place for ESL Students: The Challenges of Placing ESL Students in FYW Programs By Lauren Martyn Click the link below to view Lauren’s project. 2014 TESOL Award Project
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Best New Media Content You Are Beautiful – The Small Message That Became A Movement By Jill Ochawa Click here to view Jill’s project. Best Interactive Media Design Graphic Design Portfolio Website By Hilary Conlisk Click here to view Hilary’s project.
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Best Project in Professional & Technical Writing A Recommendation Report for LCDC: Visual Storytelling & Social Media Strategy By Brendan Bergen, Matt D’Agostino, Arielle Lockett, & Jeffrey Melichar Best Project in Teaching Writing & Language Rethinking the Creative Writing Model at a Writing and Tutoring Center By Bridget Wagner Click the link below to view Bridget’s project. 2014 Teaching Writing and Language Award Project Best Project in Rhetoric & Discourse “Getting with the Program”: Algorithms, Software, and the Everyday By Molly Rentscher Click the link below to view Molly’s project.
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2014 Award Winners UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS Best Undergraduate Essay Allison Guntz Best Project in Professional and Technical Writing Allison Guntz MA IN WRD AWARDS Best Project in Professional and Technical Writing Jeffrey Melichar, Arielle Lockett, Brendan Bergen, & Matt D’Agostino Best Project in Teaching Writing and Language Bridget Wagner Best Project in Rhetoric and Discourse Molly Rentscher MA IN NMS AWARDS Best Interactive Media Design Hilary Conlisk Best New Media Content Jill Ochawa GRADUATE TESOL AWARD Best Project in TESOL Lauren Martyn Visit our Facebook page for more photos from the WRD Awards Party, held Friday, June 6, 2014, at Cortelyou
Continue readingSpread 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.
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