The discourse must be sublime and elegant in form and content. It must be free of imitation and must transcend ephemeral trends or overwhelming currents, in such a way as to preserve its independence and its distinction. It must be…
In the introduction to section 5 of Convergences, entitled “Dividing Lines,” Robert Atwan discusses the adversarial model of American cultural conversations. The sides are identified with labels like conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat, white/black, and religious/secular. These labels sometimes simplify complicated issues and prevent us from reaching a compromise, but these types of arguments and debates are also used to determine how power is distributed and problems solved in our communities. While we may not have the individual power needed to solve a community dilemma, we do have the power to write and argue and convince others of our views in an attempt to solve these problems. In this assignment you will argue about one of the issues from Convergences. You may argue against or in conjunction with the texts. Identify an issue about which you want to argue, use two texts from the book and one outside source of any type (book, article, website, documentary, etc), and argue for a particular view and/or resolution of the issue.…
4. What is a discourse community? To what discourse communities do you belong? How does a discourse community help establish common ground for its members?…
Everyone belongs to various communities, but one type of community that many people don’t recognize is discourse communities. Discourse communities may be difficult to identify and pick out, but thankfully, author John Swales outlines the necessary criteria needed to be considered a discourse community. Swales says, “The concept of discourse community is proposed as a more functional and goal-directed grouping than either speech community or speech fellowship” (Swales 211). He then goes on to give us six qualities that describe what a discourse community should have: common public goals, methods of communication, providing information and feedback to one another, discourse expectations, specialized terminology, and a rank and change membership. American linguist…
The excerpt “Arkansas Boys” from Paul Clemens book Made in Detroit is a clear example of a discourse community. The main reasons that the Arkansas boys are a discourse community is because of their profession, where they spend time, and how they interact with one another. One thing that relates to all of the Arkansas boys and makes them a discourse community is their profession. All of them are salvagers working at an automotive plant in Detroit. This fits into Swales concepts of a discourse community because all the workers have a common goal in salvaging the automotive plant. Additionally, within the group itself there are different levels of experience, an example of this would be comparing Terry to Terry Junior, in which Terry is the expert.…
Colby College in Waterville, Maine is the second oldest college in Maine, and Sigma Kappa was the only Greek letter society founded in the State. In 1873, the freshman class was the first to have more than just one woman, four more came along. Mary Caffrey Low was the first female student to attend the College. Louise Helen Coburn, Elizabeth Gotham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller, and Frances Elliott Mann joined her two years later. Because there were so many males, the five women had a tough time fitting in. They were often secluded from everyone, teased by students, and even ignored by the staff. The woman had a predilection to make a better environment for the future women to attend the College, because of the way they were treated by their male classmates and professors. During the freshman year of the four other women, they started a Greek-letter society with Mary Caffrey Low. The women were presented with a letter from the faculty, advocating their petition on November 9, 1874. This day has been considered Founder’s Day. Frances mann came up with the name Sigma kappa and the majority of the symbolism of the ritual. In February 1875, two more woman were initiated by Mary Low, enumerating seven members total on the…
Early in the writing, Gee defines Discourse as a combination of acts: saying, writing, doing, being, valuing, etc. He views Discourse as a social construct not dissimilar from Culture. In fact, in order to master a Discourse, one must go through an intensive process of enculturation or apprenticeship where there is a focus on social practices and supported interaction with people who have already mastered a Discourse.…
According to Wardle’s study, the humanities department did not view Alan as a member of the discourse community, but a “tool” to fix things they needed. Furthermore, the social norms of the humanities department governed the content and style of emails, which Alan admits was difficult for him, resulting in breakdowns of communication. However, Wardle also discusses that breakdowns in communication can lead to positive change, when all participants are willing to work together to resolve the…
I am confused on which one is your discourse community. Is it just being a dancer your discourse community or is the App state dance team your discourse community Or is Amber's Studies your discourse community? You spoke about Senior Spotlight a lot but never told us how it affected you…
Another definition on the subject, given by literary expert Patricia Bizzel, is that a discourse community is a “group of people who share certain language- using practices.” (Bizzel, 1992.1) She then goes on to describe the styles in which these communities can fit, but regardless of whose definition or list of requirements are used to compare, it should now be clear that the military has formed a discourse community. They meet every characteristic needed, and contain the necessary uses of lexis and…
The perspective of a traditionalistic political culture is that the government should be dominated by political elites who are mostly business leaders and guided by tradition. Also in a traditionalistic political culture, citizen participation is limited and any public policies benefit the elites the…
A discourse community can be defined as a group of people who share knowledge of a certain topic, share similar backgrounds, and have a common goal. A lot of them also had unique ways of communicating with each other which outsiders could not understand. They give everyone something that makes them feel like they belong somewhere and are important too. Being in one of these communities is a good way to be a part of something with people who are easy to relate to and can help you grow fundamentally as a person. They can give you skills that are necessary for the future and your college career as well.…
Swales, J. (2014). The Concept of Discourse Community. In Reading and Writing for ENG 100: Writing Seminar 1 (3rd ed., pp. 218-230). Boston: Bedford.…
This work would not have been possible without the support of my group members, my classmates, Sherry Turkle, Professor Mahaffey, and UNC Charlotte. My group members and my fellow classmates have peer reviewed all of my sources and summaries. To Duane, Jason, and Nicole- Thank you for being patient with me and giving me all of the help I needed to make my paper better. They have gave helpful and valuable feedback for better improvement on my paper. Sherry Turkle has given relevant information in Reclaiming Conversation and it is the primary reason that sparked my inquiry question. Sherry Turkle also provided me with other useful sources for my inquiry. Professor Mahaffey has been a supportive and a useful individual to me. She has also given me helpful feedback and advice that has improved my paper.…
Discussion is a text which present a problematic discourse. This problem will be discussed from different…