Discourse Community Map and Response

Discourse Community Map

Discourse Community Map Response

As a member in society, everyone has certain discourse communities that keep them in touch with the outside world rather than keeping to ourselves. These discourse communities provide us the opportunity to be ourselves with others and share common interests with the people who surround us. I take part in six different discourse communities that have helped me get out into the open and learn new things.

UTEP: My first discourse community in which I spend most of my time on Monday’s and Wednesday’s is UTEP. I chose to come to this discourse community to get a degree and pursue a career in education, many have chosen the same career as I have while others are mostly interested in pursuing a different career. To be able to get into this discourse community one must complete all the requirements set forth by UTEP, you must have a certain GPA and have a certain grade in college placement exams. There are many members in this discourse community, it is impossible to know every single member. This discourse community has taught me many things, some useful and others not so useful. I am currently taking Communication and English courses so that I can finish my basics and graduate in 2014. Writing is very useful in this discourse community because of all the major papers members of this discourse community must complete to pass a class; the professor usually assigns a topic and students must complete them by the required deadline. Writing is also essential in this discourse community to get a hold of professors and fellow students whether it is through an email or a social network. There are many basic rules that members of this discourse community must follow in order to remain in UTEP, for example no cheating or plagiarism is allowed, and one must have respect for fellow members and professors of this discourse community.

Family: My second discourse community would be my family. My family is an important part of my life; I do not know where I would be without them. They have provided me with all the support I need. I have started my own family; my family consists of my husband, my daughter and myself. This discourse community involves my parents, two sisters, brother, husband, our baby and I. We usually write to each other a lot; our main way of communication is face to face but when they are not close we usually text if it’s not that important or call each other when we have questions that require immediate attention. We talk to each other with a lot of respect, of course we take that respect away when we have been disrespected ourselves and tend to get angry but quickly get over it. One of our family rules is that we must have communication and express how we are feeling and to let each other know if something is bothering us, this way we can try to fix our mistakes and all is content. Happiness is a very important part of this discourse community.

Friends: My third discourse community is my friends. My friends have provided me with a lot of support and are there for me when I need them most. They have provided me much laughter and memories. I have to admit this is probably the discourse community that I have separated most from ever since we got out of high school. We still remain in contact through social networks and sometimes plan little “get-togethers” to see how we have been and to catch up. We often talk to each other using humor and being sarcastic with each other, almost everything we say causes laughter to at least one member. We are always laughing and having a good time with each other which is why I regret partly separating from this discourse community, but at least we still try to keep in touch. I do have another group of friends whom I hang out with regularly on the weekends; they are my “dancing buddies.” My husband is in a band and plays almost every weekend; the wives of the other group members and I hang out and go see them play. Since dancing is one of my favorite hobbies, I enjoy this discourse community a lot.

Nutrition Club: I am a member of a nutrition club in my area. I was recruited into this discourse community by my husband. In this discourse community we get together to drink our nutritional products and talk about our success with the products. We often congratulate each other for losing weight or for winning a challenge and often share advice on how a health problem can improve. We talk to each other with a lot of respect, mainly because a lot of the people in this discourse community are older and of course they deserve respect. We usually do not talk to each other outside of this discourse community unless they are our customers, in which case we must remain in contact and make sure we are on the right track to losing weight and a better health.

Crafter and Hoarder: my last two discourse communities are related to each other; crafting and hoarding. Writing is crucial in these two discourse communities because without writing I wouldn’t be able to easily reach out to my customers and display my work to future customers. I contact my customers most conveniently through Facebook. The main goal of being a crafter and a hoarder is to make money while I have fun. I often find myself hoarding supplies so that I can be ready for any future order I may have. These discourse communities have helped me a lot with my goal of crafting and making money with something I enjoy doing.

Conclusively, discourse communities are an important part of our every day lives. They also provide us with a social life. I am proud to be a part of six different discourse communities and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am if it wasn’t for these discourse communities. My next goal is to be a part of more discourse communities and meet new people and find new interests which will open the doors to meeting new people and making new friends.