Discourse communities, or social groups to which I have some standing authority, are an essential part of my life. Within these groups I've been able to grow socially, academically, and emotionally. But there is another way to which I have changed through my existence in discourse communities, and that is through my ability to achieve literacy.
First things first. I successfully made it into the first discourse community I have ever known by right of birth. My family is a community to which I'm happy to be a part of. Our purpose is a broad one ranging from supporting one another, advice, or simply to be social. The literature that spawns from these conventions is also diverse. Literature can take the form of a page and a half of a written out birthday card or a posted note left on the refridgerator that says, "don't forget to take the trash out."
Once upon a time when I was a wee little lad and I got in a fight. I was 11 years old and a boy at school and I didn't like each other for some reason that I can no longer recall. When my mother found out later that day about the physical fight I had been involved in, she sent me to my room where I stayed long enough to write the saddest and most sweet apology letter ever written by an 11 year old boy. When my mom read the letter she smiled and hugged me. I wasn't to be released at that moment but it was then that i knew that someday soon i would be, and that piece of literature was to thank.
The next discourse community on the agenda to be addressed is my place of work. I work part time at a restaurant busing tables. The restaurant isn't fancy, it's Perkins. I clean up sticky pancake goo from customers who never seem to tire of making as big a mess as they can. Needless to say I work in a shit whole for shit heads.
Joining this community is easy to do. It involves filling out an application and an interview that serves the purpose of deciding how competent you are (and trust me you don't have to be very to work this joint). The literature here usually consists of notes scribbled down on napkin via crayon and passed along for social purposes. A mix of jokingly flirtatious literature is the norm. Usually notes will read something like, "Jackie you're a jackass," which are then followed by the customary, "Jackie you're so wildly gorgeous words can't describe... by the way don't tell my girlfriend i said that."
School serves as a community in my life to which without my literate abilities I would be worthless. I am currently attending the University of Cincinnati and in order for you to do the same you must apply to the college. After being accepted each and every student must be working towards some type of degree program. Literature in this community consists of essays, written test answers, and discussion boards. Discussion boards and essay papers being the the two finer examples of literature in my humble opinion.
Discussion boards allow for educated opinions to be rattled off some where and in a short period of time there is a response. These responses may be supporting the opinion or denouncing it and either way a student has an opertunity to keep an open mind and learn something. My major is criminal justice and there is a lot of room for debate on the ethics behind this field and through the use of literature I have established my own personal beliefs.
Last but not least is the discourse communty of personal online websites, such as www.facebook.com. In reality it is the last community mentioned but is probably the least important... i just really wanted to use the phrase I used in the beginning of the paragraph so sue me. Anyways, carrying on, joining this community requires internet access and the creation of a personal web account on one of any number of websites. The purpose of this group is mostly social though some have been known to use the website for organizing people together, for example, an invitation to a party. I have always used this community for social purposes and it has worked well.
Once again, once upon a time when I was a wee lad (a little less "wee" than the last time) I lived in Dallas, Texas. It was a great home and I loved it. I made many friends but as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end," and they surely did. I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana then to Cincinnati, Ohio. Despite the years and miles that are between my old friends in Texas and I, we have managed to keep in touch. I still visit them in the Summer time and I have a feeling that mine and their literate abilities when using socially oriented personal websites might have something to do with it.
Hopefully this post has been of some use in getting to know a little bit about who I am. Perhaps I am currently engaging in literate acts with yet another discourse community.
