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 550: The Community-Engaged Writing Classroom

In the upcoming Spring Quarter, Dr. Monica Reyes will be teaching another iteration of WRD 550: The Community-Engaged Writing Classroom.  This course offers theoretical and practical instruction about how to connect writing students with communities for advocacy and learning. Students will learn from WRD faculty who have taught community-engaged courses and develop ideas for community-centered student projects suitable for writing classrooms. Below, Dr. Reyes shares her thoughts on the upcoming course, encouraging students from a variety of interests in teaching to enroll.  What kinds of students do you think would benefit from this course? This course would be fitting for

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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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Alumni Spotlight: Krissy Wilson

We caught up with yet another WRD alumna who took a more teaching oriented career path. Krissy Wilson (class of 2018) is an Instructional/Learning Designer at Northwestern as well as an adjunct here at DePaul, and we checked in with her to see what her day-to-day is like, and how WRD helped prepare her.  What about this job drew you in? Did you know a career like this was an option? After I completed an MFA in Writing at the School of the Art Institute in 2014, I ended up applying to DePaul’s MA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, looking

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Todd Ruecker Recap: Working With Multilingual Writers

Recently the WRD department welcomed speaker Todd Ruecker to discuss his research on working with multilingual writers in the composition classroom. Ruecker is an Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at New Mexico University and author of Transiciones: Pathways of Latinas and Latinos Writing in High School and College, an ethnography focusing on the writing practices of several Latino students as they transition from high school to college. Ruecker’s research focuses on the increasing diversity of the writing classroom and the role institutions and instructors play in making classrooms more engaging and successful environments for multilingual writers.

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Job Sleuth: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

The WRD program at DePaul offers a number of ways for students to understand the challenges of second language acquisition and teaching speakers of other languages. Undergraduate students engage with these topics through courses such as Global Englishes (WRD 368) and can get hands-on experience tutoring English language learners by taking Teaching English as a Second Language in Chicago (WRD 378). The MA in WRD also offers a TESOL Graduate Certificate.

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WRD Receives Department Initiative Grant

Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse recently received a Department Initiative Grant from DePaul University to enhance the teaching of WRD 202: Professional Writing for Business. WRD 202 is unique given that its student population is unlike most WRD courses; it is taught by WRD faculty but taken by students in DePaul’s Driehaus College for Business. As part of the Driehaus Business Core, WRD 202 teaches students the conventions of writing in business contexts. Additionally, the percentage of multilingual students who take courses in the Driehaus Business Core is substantial. As a result, a primary goal of the grant is to create

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