Undergraduate – Page 9

March 31, 2017 depaulwrd

Kyla Patterson: Fulbright Scholar

Kyla Patterson, a 2017 graduate of the BA in Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse program, recently received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship! WRD was able to catch up with Kyla and learn about where she will be going and what kind of work she will be doing as a Fulbright Scholar. Beginning this autumn, Kyla will be traveling to Czechia (also known as the Czech Republic in the recent past) to participate in an English Teaching Assistant Program. As the name of the program suggests, Kyla’s main responsibility will be teaching English to elementary-aged children in Czechia for at least twenty hours

February 20, 2017 Admin

WRD 377: Writing & Social Engagement

This Winter Quarter, instructor Jen Finstrom is putting a twist on WRD 377: Writing and Social Engagement. WRD 377 courses always include an experiential learning component—typically, students will complete mandatory service-learning hours by going out of the classroom to serve and collaborate with communities and organizations in Chicago. What makes Finstrom’s course unique is that while it remains grounded in experiential learning and community service, students in this WRD 377 class are primarily collaborating and working with their Chicago community online rather than in person. How? Students in WRD 377 give written online feedback to sixth graders writing poetry at

January 27, 2017 Admin

Spring & Summer ’17 Courses Are Here!

The Course Cart for Spring and Summer 2017 classes opened this week, and registration begins February 5! 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.

November 22, 2016 depaulwrd

WRD Student Spotlight: Elise Jackson

This week, WRD was able to speak with current BA in WRD student Elise Jackson. She has plans to pursue a career in speech therapy after graduating from DePaul, and in this spotlight, Elise speaks about how the WRD program is helping her prepare for the future. Tell us about your career plans in speech therapy after graduating from DePaul. After graduating from DePaul, I plan to apply to a handful of graduate schools in the Chicago area that offer a Speech Language Pathology graduate program. Right now, I hope to attend either Northwestern, which is my first choice, or

November 5, 2016 Admin

Recap: Professor Krista Ratcliffe’s Talk on Rhetorical Listening

As students and scholars of rhetoric, we understand that others’ conceptions of what is good or true are influenced by their beliefs and values. But how can we apply this understanding? How can we use our rhetorical knowledge to more effectively traverse difficult conversations, like those happening on our campus and in our city during this contentious election season? In a talk sponsored by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, given on Friday, October 7, Professor Krista Ratcliffe of Purdue suggested rhetorical listening as a teachable tactic to help students—and everyone—learn how to listen to and participate in conversations

November 3, 2016 depaulwrd

Recap: National Day on Writing

Two weeks ago, the WRD Department joined other schools around the nation to celebrate National Day on Writing (October 20). Founded by the National Council of Teachers of English, this day aims to draw attention to the fact that no matter who you are, writing is an integral part of your life. To help with the day’s celebration of all things writing, WRD faculty, staff, and students went out on campus to ask DePaul, “Why do you write?” We received all sorts of responses, from writing out of necessity (my professor makes me) to writing for self-expression and to create

October 14, 2016 depaulwrd

WRD 111: Transition DePaul

WRD 111 is designed specifically for international students and was taught this Autumn Quarter by Margaret Poncin and Douglas Sheldon. The course has two main goals—to introduce students to the city of Chicago and to help students transition into the academic culture of the United States. As a result, WRD 111 instructor Margaret Poncin says, “students visit museums, architectural landmarks, and neighborhoods as part of their research for class assignments.” How is exploring Chicago paired with an introduction to U.S. academic culture? One class project required students to do just that—get out in the city and utilize concepts learned in

October 6, 2016 Admin

Winter '17 Courses Are Here!

It’s time to start thinking about Winter. The Course Cart for Winter 2017 classes opened this week, and registration begins October 13! 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.

June 20, 2016 depaulwrd

2016 WRD Awards Party Recap

The Sixth Annual WRD Awards Party was a great success thanks to the participation of WRD majors and minors, MA in WRD graduate students, and MA in NMS graduate students! This year’s party was held on Friday, June 3 in the Lincoln Park Student Center. As always, it was a great evening to honor WRD and NMS graduates, enjoy food, listen to live music, and catch up with classmates, alumni, and faculty. Photos from the evening can be viewed below. The award winners and Pi Epsilon Pi inductees are listed below: Best Undergraduate Essay “Feliz Cumpleaños!” by Wendy Ramirez Best

May 16, 2016 Admin

Faculty Spotlight: Jason Schneider

Professor Jason Schneider is the newest tenure-track member of the WRD faculty. Having taught at DePaul as a Visiting Assistant Professor since 2012, he moved into his current position of Assistant Professor in the department during fall quarter. With an MA in applied linguistics and a PhD in rhetoric from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Schneider felt immediately at home in the WRD program. Today, Schneider wears many hats here at DePaul. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in teaching English as a Second Language and coordinates the graduate certificate program in TESOL. Over the summer, he oversaw the creation of WRD 111, a new course for