Marc Johnson
ENG 1020
Jankens
Exploratory Text 1: Discourse Communities
Discourse Communities
When you see the phrase “Discourse community” you would normally think of
this in a negative light. “Discourse” immediately puts you in the sense that something is
off course, or not right within a community. For example the inmates at a jail house, a
group of people that went off course within their communities.
After reading James Gee’s and John Swales’ text I see that my first inference was
incorrect. A discourse community is a group of people within a community with the same
or similar goals. There are many examples of a discourse community, and I have been a
member of several growing up and becoming an adult. Prime example, being a student in
this English ten twenty class. All these students within this class attend Wayne State
University, but we are a discourse community with similar goals. Rather it is to become a
better writer, get a high achieving grade in the course, or to simply fulfill a general
education requirement towards our majors.
In my past I was a member of many discourse communities. From my high
school’s varsity football team for 3 years to being a part of a special group titled “Positive
Peer Influence”. I plan on becoming a part of many more discourse communities. The
main one is becoming a pupil of a nursing school in the United States of America. I will
hopefully become a part of that discourse community in due time.
I disagree with a discourse community that doesn’t use verbal communication or
far away from each other for that matter. Like the Martin Luther King Jr. “I had a dream”
speech. From a distant pass but still delivers a message on the community it is introduced
to.
Marc Johnson
ENG 1020
Jankens
Exploratory Text 1: Discourse Communities