Discourse Communities Communities of Practice Membership Conflict Diversity

Discourse Communities & Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, & Diversity Article by Ann M. Johns Summary by Rozina Sheikh

Main Concept/Theory In order for students to successfully know how discourse communities effect their lives and their writing, students must relate it to communities that they are familiar with and analyze those communities. Students need to evaluate discourse communities and how it impacts them and what factors characterize those as discourse communities

Main Ideas � There is no simple definition for a discourse community (Johns 513) � There are several distinct type of discourse communities, many of the non-academic ones are more relatable and “familiar” to people (500) • Social, political, recreational, professional, and academic � Many factors effect what type of discourse communities people willingly join and are able/unable to join � Characteristics of academic communities • • Cost of affiliation (511) Issues of authority (513) Conventions and Anticonventionalism (514) Dialogue & Critique (515)

Take Away Points � There is no simple definition for a discourse community (513). Learning about discourse communities is a process that takes time because there are so many factors and characteristics that define what a discourse community is � Johns gives definitions of discourse communities & communities of practice in a manner that is easy to understand & may help the comprehension of what those two terms really are/mean. • • “In the term discourse communities, the focus is on texts and language, the genres and lexis that enable members throughout the world to maintain their goals, regulate their membership, and communicate effectively with one another” (500) “The term communities of practice refers to genres and lexis, but especially to many practices and values that hold communities together or separate them from one another” (500) � Discussing nonacademic communities first can be a better starting point and will also help students to breakdown the characteristics of communities � Many communities that are not academic require the use of written discourses which will allow members to communicate with each other, “explore controversies, and advance their aims; the genres are their vehicles for communication” (503). This makes it relatable to students and allows them to understand the use of genre � Johns points out that when stating an argument, the student must alter when and where they will state that argument depending on what the student is writing about. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the introductory paragraph, that may only be applicable to “certain kinds of texts within specific communities” (506). � “Faculty should frequently discuss critical thinking and reading and writing goals frequently with students. They need to review why students are given assignments, showing how these tasks relate to course concepts and student literacy growth” (509). This is an excellent statement that every teacher should follow. Students will not take the assignment seriously unless they know how it will help them