Blog 6

I believe our class is a Discourse community. Just as Branick discussed in his article, there are three criteria that must be met to be a discourse community. First of all, a goal has to be in mind for a purpose. On Thursday while conducting our exercise we all had the same purpose to multitask by conducting ethnography throughout our classroom as well as participate in our class conversation. 

In terms of our Lexis or as you stated "insider" ways of meanings is that in ENG3029 we discuss things that if an outside student were to come in they wouldn't understand. For example, discourse alone I never knew before this class. Also, ethnography to me is just called observation or research, the term itself consists of 11 letters I don't usually say I will do. For example, outside of class when I'm observing a friend or anything for that matter, I don't say, I will now be conducting an ethnography on you guys or based on you. That just is part of our lexis that we understand. If anything, I feel ethnography would be a rather more common term in Bruce or the STEM building in Kean for the math and science majors.

In my opinion our class itself is indeed a larger (D)iscourse because as I stated up there, the terminology that we use in our class as well as the things we learn are unique only to us. In every way mentioned we are a Discourse, however the more selective (i.e. class, section, day, students) the more in-depth of a Discourse that we are. By being Writing majors we are considered discourse because once again, we are coherent and capable of the material that we have selected as a major in comparison to English literature. However, by being students in Kean University we are part of an even larger discourse COMMUNITY of 16,000 students who have a specific purpose of attending Kean in comparison to Rutgers or Montclair. The purpose that has bought us to Kean may be different however, we all speak Kean University language (i.e. "How do you catch the trolly by Willis?") if you ask that to a student attending Ramapo, they will give you a puzzled look. However, because there are so many of us, we can't be consider as small of Discourse as our ENG3029 Section 2 class in CAS 3rd floor. Not everyone in Kean is in that room being taught by the same professor.