A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
Portrait of an adult white woman standing in front of a flower bush

Deborah S. Hochgesang

Lecturer

Bio

Education: Roosevelt University: Bachelor of Music in Voice; Northwestern University: Master of Music in Musicology; University of Hamburg: Ph.d in Historical Musicology; Northeastern Illinois University: Master of Arts in Linguistics, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Experience as ESL and English Instructor: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, City Colleges of Chicago, Moraine Valley Community College; Hamburger Volkshochschule and Colón Fremdsprachen Institut (Hamburg, Germany) Other: Sony Classical Corporation-Freelance Translator. Professional Activities: Curriculum developer, City Colleges of Chicago and IIT; Workshop Presenter for TESOL state conventions and seminars.

Awards: Recipient of the Richard J. Daley "Excellence in Education Award" (ESL Teacher of the Year) 2001–2002. Publications: Dissertation: "Die Opern Hans Werner Henzes im Spiegel der zeitgenössichen, deutschprachigen Kritik bis 1966 (University of Hamburg, Germany). Other: Member of Supplemental Chorus of the Hamburger State Opera

Personal Statement

Because I was an international student myself in Germany, I strive to always remember how challenging it can be for students to succeed in college courses in a country and culture that is not their own. I also understand that college work can present a struggle for all students, even those who come from the United States. I aim to demonstrate compassion and clarity in my teaching with the goal of empowering all students to become all they can be.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

Notable speeches in English from various historical periods and from diverse cultures will form the basis for this seminar, in which students will develop and advance their critical thinking, critical reading, and critical writing skills. Examples of such speeches include ¿Ain¿t I a Woman¿ by Sojourner Truth and ¿The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro¿ by Frederick Douglass. In addition, other examples of effective and convincing argumentation such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.¿s ¿Letter from Birmingham Jail¿ will also be considered. Students will analyze these speeches and other texts in their historical or contemporary contexts as exemplars of rhetorical argumentation and learn, through discussion, oral presentations, and writing assignments, how to write successful argumentative essays that include arguments, counter-arguments and refutation. Students should expect to write 15-20 pages of formal, revisable writing in addition to homework and in-class workshops. First Year Seminar I provides students with guided experience in college-level writing, thereby forming the necessary foundation for First Year Seminar II and upper-level Liberal Arts classes.

Class Number

1344

Credits

3

Description

This seminar will use Voices of a People¿s History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove to explore how ordinary people in American history spoke out and fought for social justice. Their voices have not been included in the conventional historical narrative of the United States, and students will learn from their speeches, letters, poems and songs how they viewed and shaped the major social justice movements in American history. Additional materials will expand the scope of this historical survey as needed. Students should expect to write 20-25 pages of formal, revisable writing in addition to homework and in-class workshops. First Year Seminar II provides students with guided experience in college-level writing, thereby forming the necessary foundation for upper-level Liberal Arts classes.

Class Number

1473

Credits

3