Tag: Rhetoric

Updated Course Spotlight: WRD 364 Chicago Women Rhetors

Chicago has a long history of women speaking and getting things done. Who are the women who have made their mark on our city? What did they say, how did they say it, and do people know about them?  WRD 364 Chicago Women Rhetors guides students to answer these questions and more, offering the opportunity to both study history and write it. Read on to learn more about this unique course, which will be taught in Autumn Quarter 2024 by Dr. Julie Bokser.  Course Overview Summarizing the course, Dr. Bokser shared, “It’s at the intersection of rhetoric – feminist rhetoric,

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 377 Writing and Social Engagement: Writing Across Americas

In the upcoming Autumn Quarter, Dr. Maria Prikhodko will be teaching WRD 377 Writing and Social Engagement. While WRD 377 focuses on various themes depending on when it is offered, the upcoming iteration of the course repeats the Spring Quarter 2022 theme, “Writing Across Americas,” and will include collaborative opportunities with a Chicago nonprofit and with students from Brazil’s Unichristus University. Read on to learn more about the course, which offers students a unique opportunity for international connection and global citizenship education. Overview Grounded in DePaul’s mission of preparing all students for global citizenship and success, this course introduces students

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 264: Language, Self, & Society

As a social practice that we engage in each and every day, language holds a great deal of power in how we understand and move about our world. It constructs how we live, function, and relate to other people. In the upcoming Autumn Quarter, Dr. Jason Schnieder’s course, WRD 264: Language, Self, and Society, delves into this dynamic relationship. Read on to learn more and hear about WRD 264 from Dr. Schneider’s perspective.  The topics of your class–language, self, and society–can encompass many different relationships. Is there a primary one you are focusing on? Not a primary one, but the

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Course Spotlight – WRD 514: Sociolinguistics

Overview of WRD 514 In Autumn Quarter 2024, Dr. Jason Schneider will teach another section of WRD 514: Sociolinguistics. This introduction to the study of sociolinguistics explores language as a social phenomenon, with particular focus on the ways that language practices intersect with place, power, identity, gender, and race. Graduate students will have the opportunity to engage with theoretical readings and case studies that provide a range of perspectives in the field.  The course will be offered as five sessions in-person on campus (in odd-numbered weeks) and five sessions synchronous Zoom meetings (in even-numbered weeks). Students interested in teaching language

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Course Spotlight – WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games

Since the rise of the arcade in the 1980s, the persuasive potential of video games has evolved with the creation of new games and transformation of the medium. With their diverse range of messages and target audiences, video games are fascinating artifacts for rhetorical study. That’s why, this upcoming Winter Quarter, Professor Alan Ackmann will be teaching his third iteration of WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games. Read on for an interview with Professor Ackmann that outlines the class and its relevance to any students interested in media’s persuasive power. What is the main focus of

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Course Spotlight – WRD 220: How Language Works

In the upcoming Winter Quarter, Professor Jason Schneider will be teaching WRD 220: How Language Works, which offers an introduction to the study of linguistics. As registration approaches, this course gives students the opportunity to broaden their understanding of language and gain critical knowledge they can apply to their own writing, teaching, and research. Here, Professor Schneider shares more about the upcoming course and its array of topics that students will engage with.  How did you decide to teach this class, and how does it relate to your other teaching and scholarship? JS: In addition to counting for WRD elective

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Event Recap: Pilsen Mural Rhetorical Tour

In May, the Equity Committee and Student Community Committee hosted a walking tour through Pilsen to explore the history and visual rhetoric of the neighborhood’s vibrant murals. The walk was led by DePaul History professor Dr. Juan Mora-Torres, whose research and teaching interests include Latin American history with an emphasis on the history of the border. Professor Mora-Torres is an editor for the non-profit bilingual online monthly magazine “El BeiSmAn” based out of Pilsen as well, and he sits on the committee of DePaul’s Center for Latino Research/Latin American and Latino Studies Program. The tour began outside of the Lozano

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Course Spotlight – WRD 285: Truth in Disguise: The Rhetoric of Satire

During the upcoming summer session, Professor Justin Staley will be teaching the online asynchronous course WRD 285-Truth in Disguise: The Rhetoric of Satire. The course will examine satire as a powerful tool for persuasion and change, or, in lieu of that, ridicule. For students planning to take the course, Professor Staley shares, “Likely, you will be entertained, disturbed, pleased, and annoyed. And while the matters we will read about are indeed serious, we will see that it’s not always most effective to take ourselves equally seriously.” Here’s an additional excerpt from course description:  “From Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain to

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Event Recap: The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project with Dr. Phaedra Pezzullo

In the latest installment of the Writing and Rhetoric Across Borders Speaker Series on April 12, the WRD Department welcomed Dr. Phaedra C. Pezzullo, scholar-activist, University of Colorado-Boulder professor, and Co-Director for the Center for Creative Climate Communication and Behavior Change and Just Transition Collaborative. Dr. Pezzullo’s presentation, “Beyond Punchlines, Deficit, and Fatigue: Piloting the Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project,” outlined her work sharing the stories of communities impacted by environmental harm across Colorado, demonstrating storytelling’s power to spark change.  Framing the Presentation: Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice  Opening with a land acknowledgement, Dr. Pezzullo shared her intention to

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