Blog #22 Response

Gee - "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction"

Rhetorical Overview
1. What is the author's exigence? Why does the author feel the article/argument needs to be made?
Gee, unlike the other authors we've read, argues that one does not automatically enter a discourse community. They have to be accepted into the community by the members in it.

2a. What discourse community is the author speaking toward for the article? WHY do you think that? Provide textual evidence (e.g., specific language, tone, publication venue, etc.,).
I think he is talking to educators or people with a higher education because he uses the term "we," and he is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

3. What is the author's thesis/argument/niche for the piece? If possible, quote specifically from the text?
"'Language' is a misleading term; it too often suggests 'grammar.' It is truism that a person can know perfectly the grammar of a language and not know to use that language" (483).

Summary

1. Write a few sentences that summarizes this article in your own words; make sure to cover the main arguments AND conclusions.

In his article,  "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction,"  James Paul Gee argues his ideas on discourse communities. He thinks that a writer must be accepted into the community or you are not writing to a discourse community. He explains his definition of primary, secondary, dominant, and non-dominant discourses. He defines literacy as "the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary Discourse" (486). He concludes his article with a strong quote by Oscar Wilde's Lady Brackmell.

 2. Take the summary you just wrote and condense it into something “tweetable,” by which I mean a summary that is NO longer than 140 characters. Consider using the same conventions you would if tweeting, meaning abbreviations and informality in language.

There are several different Discourse communities and one must earn a spot in one.

3. Hashtags

#primarydiscourses #secondarydiscourses #dominat #nondominant

Berkaen Parlor/ Intertexuality
I think that Gee's article can be compared to any other that has discusses discourse communities, like Porter, Swales, and Glenn. Gee has a much different idea on discourse communities. Unlike the rest, he believes that one must impress the members in the community in order to be accepted into the community, where as the other authors (especially Porter), say that one automicatally has a discourse community just by writing words about a topic.

Assigned Exercise
QJD:What does Gee mean by the terms primary discourse, secondary discourse, dominant discourse, and nondominant discourse?

Primary discourse occurs early in life and is when we first “make sense of the world and interact with others” (485). Secondary discourse consists of social institutions, like church, schools, or community groups. Dominant discourse is goods like money or status, and made up from the secondary discourse. Non-dominant discourse “brings solidarity with a particular social network” (485).

AE: Gee notes that there are often conflicts and tensions between discourses…

I used my sorority as my example for a discourse community in class. Obviously, a group of all females is going to cause conflict and tension. I have not been in it long enough to experience this but from what others have told me, most of the girls settle it by talking it out. In worst case scenario, the conflict will just be ignored and everyone will move on. I think the best way would be to discuss the conflicts because usually they have to deal with beliefs and its never a bad thing to understand someone else’s perspective and beliefs.

Personal Reflection

I think Gee’s ideas on discourse communities are very different from what we have learned from previous authors. It is kind of a weird concept, but it started to make sense as the article went on, but different parts still confused me. The main thing that confused me was his idea of dominant and non-dominant discourses. I just do not think he took enough time to explain these concepts.

Any confusion or questions?

Like I said above, I don’t completely understand dominant and non-dominant discourses.