A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

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Jill Riddell

Associate Professor, Adjunct

Contact

Bio

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Writing (1999). BA, 1983, Northwestern University. Podcast: The Shape of the World Show. Publications: City Creatures; Trop; Chicago Reader; Chicago Magazine. Awards: Audubon Award for excellence in environmental reporting.

Personal Statement

I write stories, essays, and articles, and I collaborate on museum exhibitions and audio podcasts. Currently, I'm writing an ongoing, serialized novel for the West Coast literary website, Trop Magazine, and I'm working on a nonfiction book about my quest to find a species of plant or animal never seen before. I've been the vice president of a natural history museum, the co-host of a podcast on green living, and a newspaper columnist. I have a small urban farm in Chicago with apple trees, vegetables, and honeybees.

Current Interests

I write essays and stories, and I also make audio pieces. I'm the host of The Shape of the World, a podcast about cities, nature and people. I collaborate on museum exhibitions and other multimedia art projects. Currently, I'm working on a nonfiction book about my quest to find a species of plant or animal never seen before. I've been the vice president of a natural history museum and a newspaper columnist. I have a small urban farm in Chicago with apple trees, vegetables, and honeybees. I serve on the City of Chicago Mayor's Nature & Wildlife Committee.

 

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

This course is about learning from land and nature and creating work in response to such “readings.” We’ll read texts as well, including work by adrienne maree brown, Kobo Abe, and Amy Leach. The course includes two field trips, one to a prairie and one to Chicago’s southeast side, crisscrossed with wetlands, towns, landfills, agriculture, a bike park, an auto plant, and the world’s second largest intermodal hub. Students will write a series of short assignments in the first third of the class, refine a piece during the second third, and present final projects in the final third. We’ll be reading texts, listening to audio stories, and going into the world to create work related to the city’s built environment, green lands, and blue waters.

Class Number

2113

Credits

3

Description

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.

Class Number

1727

Credits

3

Description

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.

Class Number

1322

Credits

3 - 6