For this assignment you will complete a form, providing information about 4 things:
 
1. The program (discipline) you are studying (examples: Intelligence Studies or Criminal Justice).
 
2. Some ways you learned about folks in your discipline (looking at journals, websites, organizations, books, blogs, podcasts, etc.).
 
3. Tips for communicating with folks in your discipline gathered from Artificial Intelligence (AI).
 
4. YOUR tips for communicating with folks in your discipline (merging AI observations with your own).
 
Read the information below for a broad understanding of the purpose of this assignment. Refer to the attached template for more specific details on what to do.
 
 
 
What is a discourse community?
 
You learned earlier that writing does not exist in a vacuum, that it is a conversation between writer and reader. One scholar, Erik Borg, says that “We do not generally use language to communicate with the world at large, but with individuals or groups of individuals…these groups are gathered into communities.”
 
Each of us belongs to a number of these groups (called discourse communities). If you stop at a coffee shop routinely, you are a member of that community. Members know what the “rules” are for communicating with each other, what kind of greeting is used, what the standard length of comments is, what kind of comments are acceptable, and what kind are not. Other discourse communities might be related to activities with children, fitness, or church. You can probably think of examples of a conversation topic or a greeting that would be acceptable at the gym but not at church. In this assignment, you are going to look at the communication that occurs in one of your discourse communities, the one formed by an interest in your field of study (major, program, or discipline).
 
How do I learn about the discourse community in my field?  
 
What will you be looking for? You will be looking at the kinds of reading and writing members of the community do; the expectations and rules (conventions) for the communication; the way they communicate with each other online; and other tips that help you understand this group.