33 Unit 1: On Students Choosing Discourse Communities
Collette Bliss
Most of Unit 1 is pretty straightforward. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of discourse communities, reading the chapters should help you out, but you may want to do your own research since it is a core concept for this course.
That being said, you have a few choices with regard to what if any rules you want to create around which communities students can choose.
- Can students choose to analyze a discourse community that they themselves are a part of?
- Pro: it allows them to think about their communities in a new way, and will likely make it easier for them to be invested in the project.
- Con: they will likely struggle with unconscious bias, and students in vulnerable communities may be uncomfortable with personal inquiry.
- Can students choose to analyze a discourse community that is marginalized?
- Pro: it will help them to understand these communities better and learn to advocate for them
- Con: it will likely lead to some polarizing class discussions, which can be useful and informative, but also have the potential to be harmful.
The Advanced Composition Curriculum does not have a policy one way or the other, so you should decide your policy at the beginning of the semester and stick to it.
