News from DePaul University's Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse
Ready or not, finals week is here. Crunch time. Stress is always high and motivation can be low. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the work you have to get done. Here are three tips to help you write those papers and stay sane. Good luck this week!
Continue reading
Chicago’s long history with esotericism, occultism, and alternative spirituality allows students to explore the disciplines of anthropology, rhetoric, and sociology, through the diverse belief systems that thrive in the city. WRD Instructor Jason Winslade has incorporated themes of occultism in his Explore Chicago classes since 2000. Winsalde’s course “Unveiling Occult Chicago: Secret Societies, Magicians, and Alternative Spiritualities,” examines how the Chicago occult community has influenced mainstream rhetoric and values, particularly politics and activism.
Continue reading
The DePaul Online Teaching Series recently awarded WRD faculty members John Buckvold and Christine Skolnik with the Quality Matters Star Award and Certificate. Buckvold’s WRD 202 and Skolnik’s WRD 204 each received a perfect 95 in the DePaul Internal QM Review. The QM Award recognizes DOTS-developed online and hybrid courses that meet course design standards of usability and quality.
Continue reading
Sarah Brown (MAWRD 2010) currently works as a technology administrator at DePaul’s Center for Educational Technology in the College of Education. Prior to coming to DePaul in 2008, Sarah taught for two years at a career technical high school in Dayton, OH. After refining her career goals, moving to Chicago, and graduating from the MAWRD program, she continued to work for DePaul in Faculty Instructional Technology Services, where she had been a graduate assistant.
Continue reading
Aaron Samardzich graduated from DePaul in 2010 with a BA in English and minors in Interactive Media and Professional Writing. WRD’s Professional Writing minor allows students in any major to take courses in writing, editing, style, rhetoric, and more to prepare for writing in a range of professional settings. In May 2012, Aaron also earned an MS in Technical Communication and Information Design from Illinois Institute of Technology. Since June 2009, Aaron has been working as a technical writing contractor for Thomson Reuters in Chicago.
Continue readingDePaul’s online scholarship platform is now accepting applications for LAS-specific scholarships. You will be automatically considered for several of these scholarships by completing a general application; however, some require an additional application (see notes below). *Undergraduate students ONLY.* The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2013.
Continue reading
As MAWRD student Kristen Geil enters the homestretch of the masters program, she reflects on the internships she completed and leaves WRD students with some good advice. Q: What is your major/concentration? A: MA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse with a concentration in Professional/Technical Writing. Q: When did you complete your internship? A: I’ve completed two internships: one during the Spring Quarter of my first year and a second during the summer between my first and second years of grad school.
Continue reading
Chicago is known as the Windy City for our boisterous speakers, but what is the history of women’s speaking in Chicago? How have women rhetors made their mark on our city? WRD 361, Topics in Alternative Rhetorics: Chicago Women Rhetors, will examine how Chicago women have made their voices heard, and how these women have been remembered by the publics they spoke to. We’ll read primary and secondary texts, and examine museum exhibits, sculpture, memorials, architecture, organizations, language and cultural practice to learn about the past and about how this past has been remembered and interpreted.
Continue reading
WRD Department Chair Peter Vandenberg is excited to be among the faculty featured in the ePortfolio Community Profiles found on DePaul’s Teaching Commons’ website. In his interview, Professor Vandenberg talks about using ePortfolios in his undergraduate capstone course (WRD 390) for the Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse major. Vandenberg says, “”The key thing about technology is that it always follows the learning outcomes… we don’t want technology to lead; we want technology to follow effectively.”
Continue reading
Badriyyah Al-Islam (MAWRD 2011) currently works as an independent writer with a focus on servicing small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Chicago. After investigating local businesses in the area, she quickly learned that many sole proprietors, partnerships, and nonprofit agencies have neither the means to hire nor the initiative to search for a full-time staff writer who can serve their business needs. As an independent writer, she works with such organizations on a range of professional writing projects.
Continue reading