Graceland Cemetery is a Chicago landmark and arboretum that has acted as the final resting place for many prominent Chicagoans since 1860. Although it is a gateway into Chicago history, Graceland disproportionately highlights the men buried there through a variety of monuments. Dr. Julie Bokser is on a mission to address this disparity through WRD 377 Writing & Social Engagement: Women of Graceland. In Autumn Quarter 2025, students will have the opportunity to explore the beloved landmark through scholarship and research that uplifts and honors the women who have been laid to rest in Graceland. With insights provided by Dr. Bokser, read on to learn more about what students can expect to discover through this course!
What are your goals for the course and what can students hope to learn?
My goals are to find and share knowledge about women writers and thinkers who are buried at Graceland. Chicago history is still dominated by men, and many of those men are now in Graceland, which is known for architecturally impressive mausoleums that bear names of men now known to us as streets. Oddly, I think the woman most associated with the cemetery is known because her gravesite is rumored to be haunted! That’s very cool, but there is a lot of important women’s history in Graceland, too. I want to remedy this gender disparity.
Students are going to learn about women like Louise DeKoven Bowen, Nettie McCormick, Harriet Ayer, and others who I don’t even know about yet. Students will use archives to find and research what women did, and then we will write an audio tour script. For that, we’ll focus on how to write for the public in a way that’s both educational and entertaining.
How is the course structured?
This is part of the College of LAS Hidden Narratives Initiative, funded by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The grant provides money to “tell the stories of overlooked Chicago people and communities.” Part of the grant funding includes having faculty train and work with cemetery staff this summer. I’m very excited about the opportunity to form these partnerships. But this means the full course structure is still in the works.
What major projects should students expect to do in this course?
Students will synthesize the research they do about women’s lives and achievements into a written report or portfolio, use that research to compose portions of a self-guided audio tour script, and also select excerpts from the women’s writings. Not sure yet, but we may also have the opportunity to write some promotional text for the tour.
What are you most looking forward to in this first iteration of the course?
Well, everything! Side benefit, though: My secret desire is to learn some of the inside scoop about Graceland. It’s a Chicago landmark, an arboretum, and a historic cemetery. I live right by it and walk through a lot just for fun. Seriously, people jog there, kids ride bikes—it’s a huge community green space. I moved here from New York years ago, and all the big names in the cemetery have helped me “see” the history in this city I’ve now spent more than half of my life in. I’ve taken several tours, including with students; seen coyotes; found (and lost) the gravestone that’s of and for a dog; and love the prairie grasses they planted a few years ago. I’m hoping to get some behind-the-scenes lore!
Why are more untraditional courses, like this one, important to a well-rounded education and understanding of writing, rhetoric, and discourse?
Experiential Learning (EL) courses are central to DePaul’s philosophy, helping students learn by doing and this one helps them understand the city we’re in. And, since this EL is project-based, students will get experience writing for a client and a real audience. Our self-guided tour will be more accessible and could potentially reach more people than a pricey tour. To put this differently: My scholarly expertise is in women’s rhetorical history, and we are going to create a much-needed imprint of Chicago women’s history on the physical landscape of Graceland.
Interested in learning more about the rich history within Graceland and Chicago? Run, don’t walk, to your course cart to add WRD 377 for Autumn Quarter 2025!