Discover the Chicago Women Rhetors Website

Celebrate Women’s History Month and explore Chicago Women Rhetors, a website created by students in WRD 361: Topics in Alternative Rhetoric – Chicago Women Rhetors, taught by Professor Julie Bokser. The site features the work of women whose words and actions have helped shape Chicago. As the site explains, “We created this site to contribute to women’s history in the rhetorical tradition.”  Each student researched a figure or organization, and then designed a memorial, using rhetorical skills and theory to thoughtfully shape the memory of this figure. 

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Q: What would your dream WRD or NMS course look like?

Did you know Rutgers University offers students a class on Queen Bey? “Politicizing Beyonce” explores the boundaries / non-boundaries between American race, gender and sexual politics, but if this class wouldn’t do it for you, what would your dream course look like? Do you want to learn more on corporate Digital Asset Management (DAM)? Or how about spending 10 weeks exploring rhetoric, sports, and gender? As always, leave your answers in the comments or on FB and we’ll post them next week.

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Narratives, Netflix, and Newsweek

Two of our articles this week focus on teaching writing.  In different ways, the pieces advocate for more complex and challenging goals as a teacher — problematizing the role of a writing teacher and refusing to settle for simple solutions.  We’ve also found a lighter read:  The Atlantic’s roundup of new apps that hope to become the “Netflix of reading”.  Enjoy!

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Community Literacy Journal wins “Best Public Intellectual Issue” Award

We are pleased to announce the Community Literacy Journal was awarded the 2013 “Best Public Intellectual Issue” award by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) at the recent Modern Language Association Conference, which was held in Chicago. The Community Literacy Journal is edited and produced in Writing, Rhetoric & Discourse at DePaul University — and two runner-ups. According to the CELJ, journal contestants in the “Best Public Intellectual Issue” Award category must reach out beyond academe, connect with a popular audience in terms of accessible language and attractive presentation, and seek to achieve the democratic mission of higher education.

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Good Things from Chicago Public Schools, The Worst in Professional Writing, and Obama’s Rhetoric of Education

This week’s roundup of articles collectively considers the question ‘How can we do well in writing, rhetoric, and discourse?’  The New York Times article shares a tutoring success story in Chicago, while Stephen Lurie’s piece in The Atlantic argues that Obama’s vision of education reform has proven to be empty rhetoric thus far.  Each piece asks its readers to consider the efficacy of words, rhetoric, and  discourse.  On a lighter note, we found a list of the worst examples of professional writing in 2013 — read at your own risk!

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