Blog 5: What key features will you investigate to better understand the nature of discourse communities?

In our discussion we put out the "theories" that small groups might cohere more readily as discourse communities than big groups. What else might we "theorize' from this data? How would we test those theories? Is there one Swale's categories that this table suggests is more critical for being a discourse community than others - or that groups tend to have trouble achieving? What other data would we need to collect to see if this data is "true" or if the patterns it suggest are useful?

Do these findings agree with your intuitive feeling about which of these groups is a more coherent discourse community? Or do they suggest that there is something wrong with Swales definition?

In class, we basically read the columns vertically, looking at the various discourse communities as separate groups and comparing them on their scores according to each of the features. However, upon being asked to reflect on these scores, I find that reading it horizontally is also insightful; it seems that there are certain features that are stronger across the board. Here is my chart to illustrate what I mean:

Swales Features	Kean	English Writing Maj.	Ed maj	ENG 3029	Total
1	2.5	4	4.5	5	17
2	3.5	2	3	4	14.5
3	3	2	1.5	4	13.5
4	4.5	3.5	4.5	4	20.5
5	5	4.5	5	5	24.5
6	4.5	4.5	3.5	4	22.5

Notice that the 5th feature, which had to do with the group having it's own lexis, was the strongest while the 3rd feature, which had to do with using participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, was the weakest. 

Therefore, it seems to me that overall, it is easier for a group of human beings who share a space to acquire a particular jargon that is directly associated with their group identity than it is to use mechanisms to communicate with each other. From that, we can probably extrapolate that the lexis is being developed more so due to face-to-face communication rather than through the mechanisms. This hypothesis would not hold true for an online community, where communication hinges on mechanisms, but maybe not all mechanisms would be used by all members. [More research needed]

In order to truly test these theories, a variety of groups would need to participate within a study. Observation and interviewing would be a good start, but immersion would see what is ideal talk and what is reality. Also, the discourse communities here are not necessarily ones where the members would have to know the purpose and utilize all the resources available to them [although they probably should ^_^ as I'm sure many professors would agree]. This is because many students come to college because they have to or want to find a job; some could care less about the educational philosophy of a school, and to say that they have any reaction towards it, including apathy, would be a good sign since many enter college not knowing there is such a thing as educational philosophy. Simply put, a feature not included that I feel is important is the reason behind wanting to be part of the discourse community in the first place. Was is by interest? Was it forced? How proud are the members of the community?

Another thought: location and time. It is important to know where the members of a group gather, and how such as online or physically. Moreover, do the members interact much? In the case of the Kean community, most people are commuters and many are part-time students. If it weren't for the fact that I work on campus and study a lot, I probably would not know so much about the Kean community. In other words, how long are the members of the discourse community among others of the same community before transitioning to another one?

WOW this is a long post. I'll end by saying that as with any organic group, the features of a discourse community may change over time according to the needs of its members. In the short time I've been at Kean, I have seen many changes occur that have differentiated the discourse between those just entering Kean and those on their way to graduation. There are new mechanism and new resources available to Kean students that bring knew language and new identity. Interestingly enough, there are just some features that remain the same that keep it's identity. Maybe not all the features are essential. Yet another thing to look into. Cheers.