Initiatives

Writing, Oratory, and Research Development Program (WORD)

WORD!

"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today." These powerful words from Malcolm X, or “our own black shining Prince,” as the late Ossie Davis called him in the eulogy he wrote for brother Malcolm, are the hallmark of the Writing Oratory and Research Development Program (WORD).

The WORD Program is an imperative component of the Department of African American Studies and the John D. O’ Bryant African American Institute. The primary goal of the WORD Program is to enhance student academic performance. The Program includes a tutorial program and two semester-long courses (Research and Writing 1 & 2). These courses introduce students to college-level academic research and scholarly inquiry, build advanced writing techniques, develop oral presentation skills and encourage critical thinking skills.

In the summer of 2006, the Reading, Writing and Study Skills courses were replaced by the newly developed Research and Writing courses (R&W) to more appropriately suit the contemporary academic needs of incoming Ujima Scholars. The R&W courses were approved by the Office of the Provost in August 2006 and were offered (in lieu of ED U101 and ED U102) beginning in Fall 2007. In conjunction with this development, the Reading, Writing and Study Skills Program was re-named the Writing, Oratory and Research Development program (WORD) to better reflect the program’s goals and activities.

The fall 2007 semester covered materials comprehension and interpretation, with a focus on the interpretation and analysis of current events and of the diverse topics and texts of the African Diaspora, including such renowned authors as: Frantz Fanon, Angela Davis, Paulo Freire, and Alain Locke. At the end of the semester, students delivered innovative oral presentations that outlined their semester-long, original research on such topics as the under-representation of African American women in the field of engineering, to the increase in opportunities for Latino/as in the business world.

The spring semester continues to build upon skills and materials covered in ED U103. Students expand upon the analysis and interpretation of scholarly texts. Critical focus is placed on the interpretation and analysis of literature of the African Diaspora, including such authors as Ralph Ellison, Jamaica Kincaid and Robert Hayden. In April, students will once again deliver original research presentations, as well as take part in an exciting poetry recitation.

The WORD Program works in collaboration with centers and programs throughout the university, such as the Women’s Studies and Latino/a Latin American and Caribbean Studies programs, the Latino/a Student Cultural Center, the Asian American Center, Snell Library and the Office of Career Services. Through these collaborative efforts students are exposed to the plethora of resources and opportunities that are available at Northeastern, and are further encouraged and enabled to develop their educational passports.

The WORD Program welcomes the incoming class to the journey!