Discourse Communities and Genres / WP3

In reading Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity, Johns made it clear that discourse communities are very similar to what we already picture when think of communities. Regardless of the common misconception that disciplines make up most of the variety of discourse communities, discourse communities also seem to be defined by interests, politics, and professions. They are both "social and interest groups with which [an individual has] chosen to affiliate" (Johns 501), but discourse communities hold much farther implications than just affiliation. Discourse communities are also separated by textual conventions, genres, and language, among many other rhetorical tools. When recognizing discourse communities, Johns is very adamant in stating that individuals may be part of an assortment of communities and highlighting the fact that conflicts often arise with participation in several communities.

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Transformations

Younger Audience

Bottom right reads "Warning: College may cause one to prioritize school over personal
ventures, no matter how important. One, for the time-being, may have to sacrifice any
hobbies, extracurricular activities, and relationships with friends and family members."

Older Audience: click here

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Discourse Communities and Genres

In Ann M. Johns’s article Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity, Johns claims that a discourse community often exists as a group of people, united by a common goal they all want to work toward or achieve. Discourse communities seem to be “[held] together or [separated] from one another [by practice and values]” (Johns 500). That is, practice and values are core conventions that those in the same community are united by, but individuals who differ in actions and opinions tend to take part in different communities. These communities often stem from a wide variety of places, from cultural differences to social status to varying professions. However, Johns spends a great deal of energy emphasizing the exploration of discourse communities outside of academics. This is largely due to the common misconception that discourse communities are rarely encountered outside of academic disciplines. An example of this is college, which brings about many academic discourse communities that exist and are separated by different fields of study. We will approach communities, both academic and nonacademic, as well as discuss one’s ability to take part in several discourse communities while conflicts arise.

Transforming the article into a genre fit for an older audience, I decided to create an Instagram profile for a woman, Annabelle K. Jordan, in her 30s. She recently opened up a local cupcake shop, “Ann’s Cupcakery,” and leads a fulfilling life with her husband and two kids. With this form of social media, Annabelle is mostly likely reaching out to an audience in their late 20s to mid 30s, many of whom are friends, family, fellow members of the community, or supporters of Annabelle’s small business. In order to maintain an Instagram profile for a more mature audience, the language is simple but calm. This is unlike that of young teenagers, whose profiles are littered with unnecessary punctuation, excessive amounts of emojis, and excitement in the form of all capital letters. Like the language, many of the pictures posted are also simple and calm, free of any disruptive bright colors. The vibe paired with the language and photos of Annabelle’s Instagram mirrors her suburban life: quiet and steady. With the life she leads, it seems that the social media profile allows Annabelle an easy, on-the-go way of updating friends and family on life events.

When first encountering Annabelle’s Instagram, a few different communities that she takes part in are established right off the bat with the description. “Wife | Mother | Business Owner” reveals a simple facts about her that holds implications to the types of communities she participates in. These suspicions are confirmed through the photos posted. One photo seems to be of a fundraiser at the local elementary school. The comments and caption paint a picture of a supportive parent, fulfilling her role in supporting the school her children attend through involvement with the parent-teacher association, or PTA. With the photo of a sign in support of Hillary Clinton and the comments, it is safe to assume that Annabelle is a Democrat who was raised as such. Other pictures, such as the photo of her business cards or the wine and cheese laid out for her book club, help establish the other types of communities Annabelle participates in and demonstrates the variety of communities everyone is a part of.
Reaching out to a younger audience was done by first creating an advertisement for attending college. The target audience is high school students, more specifically from ages 16-18. This is mostly directed at them due to the content of the advertisement. This is a prime age in which most students are thinking about college, exploring their options if they choose to further their education, and even applying to college.. However, there are several other moves that also contribute to appealing to this younger audience. A simple and familiar, but attention-grabbing background is used in order to capture the attention of young teenagers. Alongside the background, bright, contrasting colors are utilized as a way for the words to stand out and increase the chances of students reading the information. Parallelism occurs among the text bubbles, where there is a short title separated by a line and followed by a brief summary. Establishing an easily recognizable pattern like this will allow the audience to quickly understand the structure which, in turn, will aid in comprehending the material presented.

In regards to the article, the idea of college itself holds implications to the many different discourse communities that exist within academics. However, the disclaimer is the main focus of the advertisement. At the bottom, there is a warning in small, dark text, very characteristic of many disclaimers. Here lies an example of the conflict that occurs between the different disciplines that exist within the college system. However, this does not only mention conflict between different disciplines, but all discourse communities in general. School requires that one fully understand the information given in order to “modify [one’s] language to fit that of [that] academic classroom” (Johns 511). In other words, a student is expected to minimize influences learned from other fields in order to focus on the lexis and genres of the discipline at hand. This is very similar to what is mentioned in the disclaimer, where students often find themselves sacrificing religious beliefs, hobbies, and relationships in return for education. Johns claims the existence of many stories of students “who must make choices between their communities and academic lives.” (Johns 511) The sacrifice of the student’s other communities for academics may leave one feeling lost, unsure of their identity when separated from their other communities for too long. “After all, who you are as an individual is about a lot more than just assuming a one-time role.” (Losh et al. 125)

In regards to composition, knowing the different social, political, recreational, and cultural discourse communities that exist and overlap will help to better understand and cater to the reader. With a thorough understanding of discourse communities, a writer would be able further analyze the audience, recognize the different types of communities they play a role in, and know the type of language, tone, genre, etc. associated with those communities. With these transformations, writing specifically for a younger audience “created a completely different rhetorical effect.” (Losh et al 130) It was obvious that the language, tone, and genre were drastically different than that of the older audience.

In this class, we have recognized the importance of genres, the different types of audiences that are associated with certain genres and how they affect our everyday lives. This article reverses the situation. With the ability to recognize the audience, as Johns demonstrates here, one “can determine the type of language used, the formality of the discourse, the medium or delivery of the rhetoric, and even the types of reasons used to make the rhetor’s argument.” (Carroll 49) Therefore, having a strong grasp on the concept of either discourse communities or genres and being able to apply the knowledge we have learned allows for great rhetorical skills that are applicable to the many communities we all belong in, regardless of academics.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing

Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 2. West

Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. 45-58. Print.

Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles Lowe and

Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. 249-61. Print.

Johns, Ann M. "Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict,

and Diversity." Text, Role, and Context: Developing Academic Literacies. Cambridge,

New York: Cambridge UP, 1997. 51-70. Print.

Losh, Elizabeth M., Jonathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon. "Writing

Identities." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 113-
39. Print.