On April 19, the students of the first Writing for Digital and New Media course at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) had the pleasure of meeting the woman who made the course possible – Dr. Lisa A. Freeman.
Dr. Freeman herself is a history-maker, not only for being the visionary responsible for implementing the English department’s new Professional Writing major and minor concentrations (which include the ENGL 383 course), but also for becoming UIC’s first woman to be appointed Head of the university’s English department. Freeman succeeds Dr. Walter Benn Michaels in this role. “I think it’s a great honor… I think of myself as honoring some of my mentors,” Dr. Freeman shared about the opportunity. She also paid homage to the leaders of the women’s rights movement, appreciating the efforts that made her entry into a career as a woman possible: “Without those women that entered the profession in the 60s and 70s, I would not be here.” Dr. Freeman explained where the proposal for a Professional Writing program at UIC originated from: “The idea for [the concentration] came when I was talking to some of the instructors for the internship program; they wanted to create a class, but in the end we decided to create a whole program.” Sure enough, in the spring semester of 2016, the first Professional Writing courses were included on the registration bracket. There are four core courses that make up the concentration: Advanced Professional Writing (ENGL 381), Editing and Publishing (ENGL 382), Technical Writing (ENGL 384), and of course, Writing for Digital and New Media (ENGL 383). In order to minor, students have to also take Media and Professional Writing (ENGL202) and for the major, students must complete an additional capstone project consisting of a portfolio of their writing. Other requirements are detailed on an information sheet shared by the department discussing other curriculum requirements. “I just think that what English majors learn is the art of story making – Having these professional writing courses brings that knowledge together with some of the skills needed to produce this type of work after graduating from UIC.” In addition to her position as Head of the English department, Dr. Freeman is an Associate Professor at UIC specializing in eighteenth-century literature and culture as well as in drama and performance studies. She is currently working on a project concerning anti-theatricality and censorship from the Renaissance period to modern day America. Dr. Freeman is also busily putting together a book on the idea of progress both in the eighteenth-century novel and in the criticism of the novel. Some of her previous work includes a book called Character's Theater: Genre and Identity on the Eighteenth-Century English Stage, now available on Amazon. “We will probably develop more courses [for the Professional Writing concentration]. For example, we may need to create more specialized technical writing classes, for the sciences or social sciences… We want to see if we can take what we’re building with the Professional Writing program and build it into a graduate certificate; but, we’ll have to see how the major and minor develops first.” The four core courses will be offered again in the spring semester of 2017. The increasing demand for university Professional Writing programs will see these courses fill up fast. If you or someone you know may be interested in pursuing a degree concentration in Professional Writing, make an appointment at the LAS Advising office to learn more. Rachel Knowles is a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Rachel is a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Visit the About page to learn more! Archives
April 2017
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