Category: Undergraduate

Course Spotlight – WRD 204: Technical Writing and its Utility for WRD Majors

This Autumn Quarter, WRD 204 Technical Writing is returning to help students learn how to develop documents for technical workplaces. Taught in person at both the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses, or as an online asynchronous course, WRD 204 is sure to fit into your schedule and provide useful knowledge.  I interviewed Professor Allison Pelletier, who teaches an online async iteration of the course, to learn more about WRD 204 and what it offers—especially for WRD majors. I also checked in with two WRD majors, Amber Corkey and Jillian Muncaster, to share their perspectives as to how the course benefitted

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Updated Course Spotlight: WRD 364 Chicago Women Rhetors

Chicago has a long history of women speaking and getting things done. Who are the women who have made their mark on our city? What did they say, how did they say it, and do people know about them?  WRD 364 Chicago Women Rhetors guides students to answer these questions and more, offering the opportunity to both study history and write it. Read on to learn more about this unique course, which will be taught in Autumn Quarter 2024 by Dr. Julie Bokser.  Course Overview Summarizing the course, Dr. Bokser shared, “It’s at the intersection of rhetoric – feminist rhetoric,

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 377 Writing and Social Engagement: Writing Across Americas

In the upcoming Autumn Quarter, Dr. Maria Prikhodko will be teaching WRD 377 Writing and Social Engagement. While WRD 377 focuses on various themes depending on when it is offered, the upcoming iteration of the course repeats the Spring Quarter 2022 theme, “Writing Across Americas,” and will include collaborative opportunities with a Chicago nonprofit and with students from Brazil’s Unichristus University. Read on to learn more about the course, which offers students a unique opportunity for international connection and global citizenship education. Overview Grounded in DePaul’s mission of preparing all students for global citizenship and success, this course introduces students

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Course Spotlight – WRD 323: Editing

This Autumn Quarter, Dr. Tim Elliott will be teaching WRD 323 Editing, a course for undergraduates to hone not just their editing skills but also their ability to communicate with the writers they’re editing for. I checked in with Dr. Elliott to better understand what WRD 323 Editing is about and what students can expect. Read on to see Dr. Elliott’s insightful responses.  What are your goals for the course and what can students hope to learn? My goals are to help students prepare to edit most kinds of professional documents and become comfortable building rapport with authors. Students will

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 264: Language, Self, & Society

As a social practice that we engage in each and every day, language holds a great deal of power in how we understand and move about our world. It constructs how we live, function, and relate to other people. In the upcoming Autumn Quarter, Dr. Jason Schnieder’s course, WRD 264: Language, Self, and Society, delves into this dynamic relationship. Read on to learn more and hear about WRD 264 from Dr. Schneider’s perspective.  The topics of your class–language, self, and society–can encompass many different relationships. Is there a primary one you are focusing on? Not a primary one, but the

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Student Spotlight — Miranda Kincer and Creating Knowledge

Throughout 2023, WRD student Miranda Kincer worked on and published scholarship in DePaul’s undergraduate journal, Creating Knowledge. Her piece, “Tony Stark as an Icon for Alcoholism and Recovery: How Details in Iron Man #182 Reveal the Detriment of Alcohol Addiction” won out in the competitive landscape of student works, where only one piece is published per university department. Representing WRD, Miranda reflects on her time before, during, and after publication. Read on to hear about Miranda’s experience of publication and gain insights into how and why you might publish work as well. What inspired you to write this piece and

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Spotlight on WRD’s Minor in Professional Writing

Students in any major at DePaul can enroll in the WRD department’s Minor in Professional Writing, which can be completed in fully online, in-person, and hybrid formats. This minor offers students opportunities to hone their workplace writing skills through real-world writing tasks that emphasize clear communication, strategic efficiency, and authentic collaboration. Read on to explore how a Minor in Professional Writing may be the perfect complement to your degree! Why minor in Professional Writing? With only two required courses and four electives, the Professional Writing Minor allows you the flexibility to cater the coursework to your interests. While it draws on

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Course Spotlight — WRD 281: Writing Censorship

From book burning to academic regulation, censorship is a historic phenomenon with modern reverberations. With controversy around censorship and freedom of speech on DePaul’s own campus in 2016 following the protest of a conservative speaker, it is pertinent to consider our own place in the conversation of regulated expression. This upcoming Spring Quarter, online asynchronous WRD 281 Writing Censorship aims to prompt and answer important questions about how censorship functions.  Read on to hear from WRD 281’s own Professor Erin MacKenna-Sandhir and learn more about what WRD 281 Writing Censorship will entail. 1. What are your goals for the course

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Course Spotlight — WRD 288: Rhetoric and Popular Culture

At the intersection of The Avengers and Aristotle, WRD 288 Rhetoric & Popular Culture emerges to explore how pop culture shapes and is shaped by the art of persuasion. Taught this Spring Quarter by Professor Justin Staley, this course is your ticket to entertainment and enlightenment in one. Read on to hear from Professor Staley and learn more about what the course entails. Are there any artifacts or events in pop culture the class will be taking a look at?  What’s fun about this class is the wide range of artifacts and events we examine, or that students can examine

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