WRD 523 at DePaul

Graduate Editing Course Provides MA Students with Organizational Knowledge

Community service is at the core of DePaul’s mission toward Vincentian values and social justice. In the MA WRD program, our courses can contribute to this service through the use of community partnerships in the classroom. In the Winter 2016 quarter, Professor Sarah Read is teaching WRD 523: Editing, and students are working with community organizations, giving back to the greater Chicago community while developing skills in editing, copywriting, and technical communication. Learning the Skills This is the third time that Prof. Read has taught this class at the graduate level, which she says focuses on “the immediate professionalization of

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Recap: Professor Victoria Gallagher’s Talk on the Virtual MLK Project

In a talk sponsored by DePaul’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, on Friday, February 10, Professor Victoria Gallagher of North Carolina State University described a rhetorical digital humanities project that she leads, which focuses on a speech given by the great American orator, Martin Luther King, Jr. This project is framed by an important question: What does it take to transform peoples’ hearts and minds about race? About The Virtual MLK Project Professor Gallagher described the Virtual MLK Project as situated at the intersection of rhetoric, Black history, and digital humanities. It is a project that has drawn faculty

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Screengrab of Cauldron website showing the article

Justin Staley Ponders the Little League World Series in The Cauldron

WRD instructor Justin Staley’s article “25 Years Ago, I Played In The Little League World Series, Too” was recently published in The Cauldron by Sports Illustrated. In the article, Staley recalls his experiences playing in the Little League World Series championship and reflects on what he’s learned from that memorable summer. We were able to get in touch with Staley and learn more about the article and his reasons for writing it. Want to read Staley’s work? Find it here. Why did you write this piece? Did any recent event or thought trigger a desire to write about yourself and the Little

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WRD 377 Students

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

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New Graduate Course Preview | WRD 545: Teaching Writing Online

Why Learn to Teach Writing Online? In recent years, the convenience, accessibility, and pedagogical possibilities of online learning have drawn in students and teachers alike. As more students turn to online spaces for education, writing teachers must understand the pedagogical possibilities for these learning environments. To help students prepare to teach online, the MA in WRD will offer WRD 545: Teaching Writing Online in the upcoming Spring 2017 quarter. The course is an elective, of particular interest to students pursuing the concentration in teaching writing and language. On the course’s website, Prof. Michael Moore says that he aims to explore

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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.

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Flyer for Gallagher event

2/10: Victoria J. Gallagher Visits WRD, Discusses vMLK Project

On Friday, February 10 from 1 to 2:30pm in McGowan South 105, Dr. Victoria J. Gallagher from North Carolina State University will be visiting DePaul and taking part in the Writing and Rhetoric Without Borders Speaker Series. Gallagher will be delivering a talk entitled, “The vMLK Project: Crafting a Necessary (Digital) Space to Explore Rhetoric and Civic Transformation.” Abstract: The Virtual Martin Luther King project is an immersive, ambient recreation, including sound and visual renderings, of a 1960 speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. in Durham, NC of which no known recordings survive. This project challenges how we think

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Word Art of Jobs

MA in WRD Job Listings: January 18, 2017

Looking for job opportunities in and around Chicago? Students in the MA in WRD and MA in NMS programs may be interested in the weekly listings below (click a link to jump to the category): Teaching Writing Jobs, Entry Level Professional & Digital Writing Jobs, Entry Level Professional & Digital  Writing Jobs, Advanced Teaching Writing Jobs – Entry level ESL Instructor Howard Area Community Center “We are seeking one instructor for a morning multi-level ESL course (Beginning Literacy to High Beginning.) Instructors should have experience teaching in adult education and/or working a social service agency with diverse populations.” Citizenship Instructor Erie

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Course Spotlight: Teaching ESL Writing Update

Overview of WRD 543 Students in Dr. Jason Schneider’s WRD 543: Teaching ESL Writing course learned to better understand the theoretical and practical issues connected to writing studies in an increasingly diverse world. WRD 543 is a graduate-level course, open to all MA in WRD students, and is offered every other year. It provides concentration credit for students in DePaul’s Teaching Writing and Language concentration of the MA in WRD and counts for Methods credit for those students pursuing the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate. Structured around readings and weekly discussion posts, the course helps students

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Pokemon Go on a Smartphone

WRD Faculty Research: Professor Jason Kalin Studies Urban Space and Rhetoric

Wearable technologies, like smartphones and smartwatches, allow us to use location-based services to “check in,” to establish routes and routines, and to discover nearby activities. But how do these new technologies affect the way we make sense of urban spaces? WRD Professor Jason Kalin and his colleague, Professor Jordan Frith of the University of North Texas, recently explored this question through a collaborative research project. Kalin’s areas of expertise are in rhetorical theory—visual, digital, and material rhetorics—and memory studies. Frith’s research focuses on issues of space, place, and mobility in media. In their article, “Wearing the City: Memory P(a)laces, Smartphones,

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