On Wednesday, November 19, 2025 DePaul students, faculty, and Graceland Cemetery staff gathered in the chapel of the historic cemetery on Chicago’s north side for the final presentation of Professor Julie Bokser’s course, WRD 377: Writing and Social Engagement: Women of Graceland. The event showcased the final product of the class’s work during the quarter: a completed audio tour that highlights the overlooked histories of women writers and rhetors buried at Graceland Cemetery.
This course was a part of DePaul’s Hidden Narratives Initiative, a program that directly partners with DePaul classes and Graceland to produce accessible resources for visitors to the cemetery. Writing and Social Engagement: Women of Graceland was an Experiential Learning course that specifically guided students in exploring Chicago’s past through rhetorical inquiry and archival research, while also focusing on the work of writing and composing for public audiences. The final product is an audio tour with 19 stops, each featuring a different woman’s story, and each fully researched, written, and produced by the members of the class. The women featured in the tour represent a wide range of notable rhetorical and cultural contributors to the city of Chicago, including influential Hull House members Mary Wilmarth and Louise DeKoven Bowen, visionary dancer Ruth Page, civil rights activists Jessie Williams DePriest and Mary Richardson Jones, and the teenage diarist Julia Newberry, as well as many others, each with their own story and history. The final tours will be integrated into Graceland’s developing digital platform, allowing visitors to directly engage with these women’s stories.
Throughout the quarter, students also examined the process of soundwriting and the specific rhetorical strategies used for effective audio storytelling. Their research processes included an exploration of Graceland’s archives, as well as visits to the Newberry Library and individual examination of primary texts. In class, students discussed how public histories are constructed, uncovered previously untold counter-narratives, and considered how rhetorical choices can shape a reader or listener’s takeaways.
The final presentation provided a thoughtful reflection on the students’ work and overall experiences throughout the quarter. During the presentation, students shared their findings and reflected on their research experiences, especially with navigating primary source research strategies. They also discussed the unique challenge of writing for the audio tour genre, as well as their recommendations for Graceland as they continue to develop projects within the Hidden Narratives Initiative. Throughout the presentation, five of the audio tour stops were shared, showcasing impressive and engaging work with compelling narratives and intentional and immersive sound editing. The attendees were also encouraged to take the full tour during their visit to Graceland to listen to and learn from each of the featured women’s stories.
Those at the final presentation expressed excitement for the potential impact of this audio tour for future visitors to Graceland, emphasizing its value in bringing in both new perspectives and new visitors to the cemetery by uplifting these women’ s stories. The students’ work on this tour encourages listeners to consider important counter-narratives by exposing them to how fundamental women were in helping shape Chicago’s intellectual, cultural, and civic life in many ways that are still seen today. Overall, the students of this class created a tour that offers a lasting and meaningful way for visitors to engage with Graceland and the histories of Chicago that are preserved in the cemetery.
The final Women of Graceland tour is now available on VoiceMap. Instructions for downloading and listening to the tour can be found here.