Wardel Response

BEFORE YOU READ:
I think that so far in college, my personality has changed because of where I live and who I live with. I think that it's funny because when I moved in, I was shy and kept to myself and my own room, and eventually grew out of my shell and became very good friends with everyone I live with. Also by becoming more like the people I live with, I have made more friends outside of the mod and also the group of friends I already had.

SUMMARY:
In her article, Wardel talks about discourse communities, how to have a sense of identity, authority, and how to participate in activity systems and avoid rebellion. She states "Of particular interests to professional communication specialists is research suggesting that learning to write in and for new situations and work places is complex in ways that go far beyond texts and cognitive workers" page 521. This makes a great opening statement where she gives us a layout of what she plans to discuss in her article.

SYNTHESIS:
Wardel's article ties to identity and how you see yourself and how others see you ties to McCloud's article which talks about the Mask and how we use different masks in different situations and when we meet different people. It ties to Gee and Swales with the talk of discourse and discourse communities.

DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK:

RESPONSE	QUOTE
These makes us thing that we need to realize that how we are seen as individuals outside of the workplace and how we are seen in our job position are different and must act accordingly.	"To tease out relationships between identity and writing in the workplace, we need theories that consider the workplace as a legitimate and important influence on subject formation". page 522
When you are new to a job you not only must become involved in getting to know coworkers and the system of working, but also must learn your new place among the other workers.	"To fully participate, according to Wenger, new workers must find ways to engage in the work that other community members do, including the writing they do; newcomers must be able to imagine their own work- and writing- as being an important part of a larger enterprise". page 524
Even if how you are seen at work does not coincide with how we are known outside of our job. If you feel that you are not at the right level, you should not act above your level.	"At times however, participation in new communities requires accepting for oneself identities that are at odds with the values of other communities to which one belongs". page 525
Just because you are given power over other coworkers does not mean that you will always have that power. And if you misuse it you will be removed or demoted.	"Authority is bestowed by institutions,  can be just as easily withdrawn by those same institutions or its members, and must be maintained through appropriate expressions of authority". page 527
This talks about how Alan was seeing himself in a higher position than he really was. His coworkers, saw him as a lower level, but he saw himself as an equal.	"He was an outsider, a worker unlike the other community members in age, education, occupation, linguistic abilities, and concern for conventions". page 531

 QD:

4.) I think that there are a lot of time people misuse language and also body language. I think that some times we do not realize how the things we say can go along with our surroundings and the people who share our environment.  

THOUGHTS:

I thought that Wardle' article was a good explanation about how identity and authority play a key role into joining a discourse community. In her example of Alan and his new job she gives us a detailed account of how misusing one's status can deteriorate their colleagues' belief of if they are needed. By burning bridges with coworkers we see that to remain in the learning community we must keep to appearances and know our place.  His failure was sad, but we learn from his mistakes.