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9/19: Working With Artifacts & Genres
I’ll be using the words artifacts and genres interchangeably today as we move through an exercise in preparation for Project 1, the Discourse Community Analysis. Look Back to Discourses & Conflict Technology was not our friend last class, so I’d like us to try again today! Vershawn Ashanti Young, also known as Dr. Vay, is a scholar who has written extensively about conflict between discourses and who studies how people experience moving between different discourse communities. In groups, review Dr. Vay’s chapter “Should Writers Use They Own English” and answer the following: How would Dr. Vay explain conflict when moving between discourses or when different discourses come into contact? How…
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9/17: Discourse & Conflict
Review Project 1 We will review your Discourse Community Analysis project, and I’ll address questions or concerns you have. What does conflict look like? So far we’ve talked about discourse communities in ways that are relatively neutral; however, power, struggle, and conflict can also be a part of existing in and moving between communities. As people move between discourse communities where they practice new ways of engaging with people, texts, and languages, values and beliefs can sometimes be in tension. For example, Johns presents examples of people feeling alienated from their families as they become more literate or fluent in academic discourse communities; alternately, Johns offers another case of a…
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9/12: Discourse Communities, Genres, and Power
We’ll focus on two goals today: understanding Ann M. Johns’ text “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice” and assigning Project 1, the Discourse Community Analysis. Take a look at Johns (52-53) for some examples of recreational and professional communities she gives. Take a minute or two to list some of your recreational and professional communities. Discourse Communities & Their Genres In class, we defined genre as ways to classify or categorize written or graphic communication. Johns indicates that “communities use written discourses that enable members to keep in touch with each other, carry on discussions, explore controversies, and advance their aims; these genres are their vehicles for communication” (56). Johns…
