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Power and Authority in Discourse Communities

What to look for and ask during your DC observation

+Swales says...

“It is possible to deny the premise that participation entails assimilation. There are enough spies, undercover agents and fifth columnists in the world to suggest that non-assimilation is at least possible” (476).

+Swales says...

“Discourse communities will vary, both intrinsically and in terms of the member’s perspective, in the degree to which they impose a world-view. Belonging to the Hong Kong Study Circle is not likely to be as constitutive as abandoning the world for the seclusion of a closed religious order” (476).

+Swales says...

“Students taking a range of different courses often operate successfully as ‘ethnographers’ [remember this word?] of these various academic milieux and do so with sufficient detachment and instrumentality to avoid developing multiple personalities” (476).

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Has your identity changed by your involvement in discourse communities?

+What about Cady?

+For Tuesday...

Read Mirabelli (WaW pages 538-555). Quiz in class.

As you read, think about:

-What was Harvey struggling with at his job?

-Why was Harvey struggling?

-How is lexis important at Lou’s restaurant? How do words have different meanings?

-Who has authority at Lou’s diner?

If you’re struggling with these points as you read, post on Facebook!

+Check out Wardle (WaW 520-534)

“Achieving enculturation in workplace communities requires neophytes to engage in new practices—including new written practices. Some new written practices may be opposed to newcomer’s values and ethics; others may simply be foreign to them; still others may ask them to give up some measure of authority to which they believe to be entitled” (525).

+ Alan vs. Humanities Department

+Keep looking at Wardle...

Post quotes on Facebook or share in class for bonus participation points. Define enculturation.

Use quotes in your DC ethnography

+How does this relate to your own DC?

How do newcomers assimilate?

What could newcomers struggle with?

What values should a person have in order to be a good candidate for assimilation?

+Tell Alan how to Enculturate...In groups of 3:

-Choose a TV show that is familiar to all of you

-Decide: What would Alan have to do in order to enculturate into this show?

-What should he value?

-What lexis and genres should he be familiar with?

-Who should he listen to? Who has the power?

-How can he gain power?

-What should he know or watch out for as a newcomer?

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In your own discourse communities....

+Observations

Conduct at least one observation of your group in action

Take notes with Swales in mind (you might even jot down his characteristics on your notepad)

Look for specific issues with authority and assimilation. Who has the power? Who makes the rules? How can a newcomer contribute?

+Observations

Write: What/when will you observe? What will you be looking for?

Member behavior (expert and novice) Language practices: evidence of community literacy, use of

lexis, etc. Multiliteracies: what special ways do you have to “read” to

be a part of this community? Evidence of authority, kinds of power Sources of conflict: with conventions, language practices,

authority, and/or identity Modes of belonging: what distinguishes newcomer and old

timer behavior? Other (explain)

Share.

+Collect texts

Gather any texts that the community uses. This could be: Emails Newsletters Menus Playbooks Coupons Facebook posts/message boards Flyers

Write: What texts are you going to collect and how are you going to collect them? (scans, photos, copies, originals?)

Share.

+Interviews

Who are you going to interview?

Why?

When?

How do you plan to record the interview?

+Interviews

Write questions related to what you’re looking for (authority, lexis, genres, etc.)

Try to have at least 5-7 questions.

Make your questions specific to your community.

Be prepared to ask follow-up questions.

+Interviews

Ask the interviewee questions about expertise and participation. Make the questions specific to their community. Examples: How long have you been a member? Why did you join? What do you have to do to really be considered a

member? How often do you go to meetings? Do people in the group listen to you or trust you? Are you considered an expert or a newbie? How can you tell who the newcomers are in the group? Are some people more involved than others?

Write a question about expertise and participation for your own interview, based on what works.

+Interviews

Ask the interviewee questions about intercommunication and genres. Make the questions specific to their community. Examples: How does your group communicate? Do you have

meetings? Do you have an email list? (etc.) What kind of texts are involved in your group? Newsletters,

handbooks, Facebook pages, etc? How are these texts used? Are there certain ways that members are expected to use these texts?

Are there ways these texts are used that an outsider might not understand?

Write a question about intercommunication/genres for your own interview, based on what works.

+Interviews

Ask the interviewee questions about lexis. Make the questions specific to their community. Examples: Is there any special terminology or

abbreviations that your group uses? Why do they use these terms? How long did it take you to learn those terms? How would you define [x, y, z]?

Write a question about lexis for your own interview, based on what works.

+Interviews

Let’s practice interviewing.

Get in groups of 3-4.

Choose one person to be the interviewee.

Interviewee: tell your group what your discourse community is.

Try out questions to see how they work.

+Interviews

What worked? What didn’t? Why?

Share some of your interview questions.

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Bring all your data to class on Thursday, September 8th