Heilker and Yergeau Response

SUMMARY:
In their article, Hailker and Yergeau give detailed accounts of how autism is misunderstood in today's society. There are personal narratives from the views of a parent of a child with autism. There are thoughts by a college graduate who tried to change the way others thought of autistic people. In their article they call to attention the connection between autism and rhetoric.

SYNTHESIS: 3
I think that this article ties to Queer Texts, Queer Context by Malinowitz. In her article she talks about how the gay community is misunderstood much like the way people with autism are. Much like how there is little research about what autism stems from we know very little about homosexuality as well. Another article this ties to is McCloud's. In his article he talks about how people don't always see you as you see yourself. This ties in with how the student with autism did not see his autism as a disability and people who have it "puzzling  individuals" like the founders of the Autism Awareness Foundation do. And finally it ties to the articles by Murray and Berkenkotter, where people with autism sometimes can not explain what they need to say, they have trouble communicating when their thoughts can not transition properly, it does not mean they are not intelligent and capable of thought though. In Murray and Berkenkotter they mention the "incubation of thought", maybe someone with autism may be struggling with an idea, they are not incompetitent, rather they are letting it develop more so.

DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK: 6

RESPONSE:	QUOTE:
There is no way to learn how it is caused or a cure. Much like other scientific mysteries we must do more research and understand the people with autism better before we figure out the condition.	We do not yet know what causes autism. 261
It appears that they focus on the negative aspects of autism. They talk about how most people do not have social skills and can not develop them. Which is not true and they should promote more positive parts of the condition.	The National Institute of Health defines autism as "a spectrum that encompasses a wide range of behavior" but whose "common features include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior." 262
This quote is talking about how sometimes when a person with autism is thinking or talking about something, their process can become disrupted because of crossed wires in their brains. It does not mean that they are stupid, it means it takes them a little longer to develop a full thought.	Sometimes, he notes, "different portions of invention try to move simultaneously into structure and style" and two or more inventive sets try "to be known through one sequence of structure and style." 264
This makes itself relevant with the way that people used to study, with copying and repetition  Why is it such a problem now? People find this odd because people with autism repeat the same thing over and over again.	Let us consider, for instance, echolalia, a characteristic kind of language use among autistics, in which they repeat stock words and phrases verbatim that they have other speakers use. 265
I hate that it says that people with autism do not have empathy or are incapable of developing it. Many people with the condition can learn to understand feelings eventually, it is much like any child, they do not understand that touching a hot stove will burn them until they either conduct an experiment or are instructed not to do so by a parent.	Empathy- a loaded worded in autism discourse, a characteristic that autistics are said to lack- presumes that one can be so in tune with another person as to actually understand that person's emotional state, to even perhaps vicariously experience it. 265
This quote is personable to myself. Although I do not have autism, I do have times when I am with people where there is a comfortable silence between us where I do not feel the need to speak and ruin the quiet. I do not know if others can relate to this quote as well as I but I can.	In other words, rather than being some kind of deficit or delay or withdrawal, rather than signifying his entrapment, frustration, depression, or loneliness, his silence signifies his contentment, his satisfaction, his fully realized development, and his fully successful rhetoric. 267

THOUGHTS: 5
I enjoyed this article. It opened my eyes to how even people with the illness do not always see it as an illness. I think that researchers should be more accepting of what people with autism really think of themselves and their condition rather than be scientific and have no emotion for the individual. I learned more about how their brains work. I did not know much about autism, but I feel much more educated in the field. This article has the set up of our Project 2 in a way.

Malinowitz Response

BEFORE YOU READ:

I personally hate the word "Queer". I hate when people use it in the wrong form. It is derogatory and hurtful. Growing up in German Village, I was surrounded by gay, lesbian, and bisexual couples and culture. I was taught to respect people's choices and that their sexual preferences did not make them any less of a person. I hate when people use words to hurt others.

SUMMARY:

In "Queer Texts, Queer Contexts", she talks about how today's society treats the gay/lesbian community and its members. She gives examples of the discrimination, talking about in every day tasks to even the classroom. She talks about some of the struggles that the community has fought and some of the things they have over come, such as marriage and "Don't ask; Don't tell." She talks about the ways that the community is affected and their effects on outsiders to the community. 

SYNTHESIS:3

I compared Malinowitz with McCloud to begin with. They both use a good amount of their articles talking about identity and masks. McCloud talks about how in certain situations people use the mask to appear different than who they are really. Malinowitz claims that gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people should not have to hide who they really are in the classroom, the church, and many other situations where their "lifestyle" is not accepted. This can also tie with Wardle with Identity being a key point for many of the same reasons as McCloud. I think that Malinowitz's article also ties in with the article by Gee, who also mentions Identity. But Gee also talks about primary/secondary groups, and Malinowitz talks about how the GLBT community needs to form both forms of groups or at least find a way to better interact between the two groups to ease tension.

DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK:5

RESPONSE	QUOTE
This quote makes me think that it's not only student's battling their sexual identity and who they are, but also teachers, administrators and staff.	In the last few years, there has been a subtle but persistent change in the classroom climate around the subject of sexual orientation. page 110
We do not understand these people, because they are not given a chance to learn to understand themselves. Typically when people show signs of being different they are redirected back to the "norm" even if they go their entire life pretending to be "normal".	Yet our understanding of lesbian and gay subjectivities- and of the role of sexual identity in producing discourse generally- remains quite limited. page 112
The problem with media versus real life, is that TV and movies can glamorize or also give these people a bad name. In real life, individuals struggle to please others in fear for being ostracized for being different.	Behind the media glitz and hype, most academic institutions and the communities that contain them are still homophobic enough to discourage teachers and students from coming out of even speaking out strongly for a change. page 112-13
This quote angers me. It is so outdated and unfair to be close minded in our generation. The things our  parents and grandparents faced growing up are over and we do not still feel the same way that their parents and grandparents felt. Why should we not move forward with our society and write history much like our grandparents and parents.	Other's frankly acknowledge their anti gay feelings and beliefs, secure that cultural precedent has rendered them understandable and acceptable. page 114.
This quote is also much like women fighting to vote in the 20's and all the equal rights in the 60's. GLBT groups should not be afraid to gather and promote themselves and voice their wants and needs.	Much has been at stake for lesbian and gay people, not only in coming together and mobilizing as a group, but in promoting a sense of this group as a group to the society at large. page 115

THOUGHTS: 5

I really enjoyed this article. I did not realize how cruel and unacceptting some people were of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Growing up I never thought anything was wrong with their choices. My oldest nephew came out his freshman year of college, and although it has made certain members of our family uncomfortable I have stood behind him and supported him and will continue to. Who you love has no effect on who you are. There are couples out there who are doing worse things, so why can't two people who love each other be happy together? Regardless of their gender.

DeVitt Response

BEFORE YOU READ:

•     computer
•     cell phone
•     verbal
•     print (notes, books, worksheets)

SUMMARY:
In Devitt's part of the article she talks about jury instructions as a genre. She talks about how language and jargon effect the outcome of court cases. She talks about how a single word can mean one thing to the court and another thing to the jury. She talks about how the jury must break down and process the terms they are presented with properly and individually so that they can make the proper verdict.

SYNTHESIS: 3
I tied Devitt's article to Gee with the way they both talk about discourses, and how they need the participants to be fully involved. I also tied this to Porter who is the foundation for all of our readings on discourse. I also tied this to Swales with the ties to language and the "lexus" and jargon and how each community has their own language.

DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK: 5

RESPONSE	QUOTES
Discourse communities are primary and secondary groups. If it is your primary group, it is very small, intimate, and almost impossible to leave or for outsiders to enter. This makes us see that outsiders typically do not understand as well as members.	Abstracted from real social situations, discourse communities may appear stable to advocates and critics assuming an imaginary consensus and a shared purpose that do not reflect real experience within communities. page 98
For people who are not as used to ethnography as another, things can be hard for them to find their footing and a place to start. By teaching students how to do it properly we can be assured that they will be able to use their findings properly.	The process of sifting through the massive quantities of information gathered and attempting to stake out some analytical claims can present a major hurdle, particularly for student ethnographers. page 98
When individuals bring outside and unrelated interests into the community it can cause tension for other members who are not interested in them.	But it is when genres encompass participants beyond a narrow community that the effects of those interests become most troublesome. page 99
This sparks the idea that we should not select random citizens to be jury members. Jury duty should be conformed into a career where schooling and some bases of legal education are needed. If we create this into a job, we will not have the problems faced by misunderstandings of jargon.	As a result, juries do not and cannot interpret the genre the way it's creators intended, as lawyers would, and cannot render verdicts that follow those instructions fully and accurately, thus resulting in significant consequences, particularly for defendants. page 100
This also highlights on the above quote. When outside members of the community are involved wires become crossed and mis-communications occur and we lose focus.	Part of the difficulty when specialized communities write to nonspecialists users lies in technical language, a difficulty commonly recognized and often addressed through defining key terms, but most of he difficulty comes from differences of interest and value that definitions cannot control. page 101

META MOMENT:

·         I think that you need both to properly be involved. You really can not do anything with out getting a second opinion or having a second source. Much like in doing research you need to be somewhat involved in the actual action you are researching for better understanding and to become a better sponsor for the subject. 

THOUGHTS:
I liked this article to an extent. I think that she makes a good point in stating that because of language and legal jargon can confuse common folk citizens that are selected for jury duty. If this is a problem, why do we not have a "jury career" with college courses and it is a part of the legal field. I think that this would make much of the "mistrials" and "wrongfully accused" cases disappear. I think if we treat it like any other type of job court cases would go a lot smoother.

Project 3 proposal

For this project I will look into the discourse of my place of employment, which is Jefferson Dining Hall. I plan to interview the staff and some of the customers. I plan to look at how authority is involved in the community. I want to look into how the higher the position of the worker the more effort is put into the job. I want to do a survey, but also some unobtusive studying as well. I plan to not let them know I am observing. I really am excited to do this project and find out more about the people in my community both because they tell me and also what I find out.

Project Evaluation

     I thought that our project went very well. At first we were stuck on a topic, thinking of the things that all four of us had in common was hard because we came from all different types of backgrounds. We talked about how we all knew how to ride a bike and how we learned to drive a car. Then we thought about how we went to a party school so maybe we could see what people thought about drinking and the consequences of it.
     Each of us took our own personal narratives from a different view point and put them together to see where we wanted to go from there. Eventually we decided to do interviews, a survey, and personal stories. We broke down the data and responses we got and found that we had a lot in common with our fellow students. We found that nearly half of the students who responded to our survey stated that they had their first drink in high school and their parents were their sponsors, and half stated that they knew someone with an alcohol problem.
    I think that our group worked really well together. I think that we had a lot of good team work and effort put into our project and lots of good ideas that everyone was open to and discussed everything we put on the website before we posted it. I think that we did a great job on our website, only one of us was the only one with prior experience with the website.
     I think I learned a lot about not only myself and my drinking, but about my fellow classmates and students. I think that by doing this project it was a great way to teach others about alcohol literacy, and about building strong bonds with people who were randomly thrown together into a group.
   

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.

Gee Response

BEFORE YOU READ:
The term means contraband, in prison it is a legal object that is obtained illegally.

SUMMARY:
Gee talks about in his article about Discourses, he talks about primary and secondary communities. He gives details about how each effects the members and the requirements needed to be involved. He talks about how some Discourses have tension or conflict when the communities do not interact well. He also ties most of the definitions to language and how it is mistaken for grammar.

SYNTHESIS: 3
Gee's article compares to Porter much like it does with Swales because they all three talk about discourse communities and how they effect and control the individuals involved. Also compares to McCloud on the leg of the Mask and the Individual. McCloud mentions how we change our outside appearance and how we act depending on our surroundings and the people around us.

DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK:

RESPONSE	QUOTES:
I agree with this quote because some people do not know the difference between the two.	"Language is a misleading term; it too often suggests 'grammar'." page 483
This ties to a "primary group" in sociology which is the first group to socialize an individual, most likely a small group, ex: family or friends.	"This initial Discourse, which I call our primary Discourse, is the one we first use to make sense of the world and interact with others". page 485
This ties the two types together because if it is mastery it is most likely a secondary discourse community.	"We can talk about dominant literacies and non-dominant literacies in terms of whether they involve mastery of dominate or non-dominant secondary discourses". page 486
This I do not agree with because the primary source is always the one to open up the literacy.	"Primary Discourses, no matter whose they are, can never be liberating literacies". page 487
Discourses are for peer review and helping each other, so you would teach others more than you would write for them.	"Within a Discourse you are always teaching more than writing or reading". page 488

META MOMENT:
I think that I agree with Gee's comment that you can not be a part time member. I think that to do your best you have to give your all. If you don't try and be a dedicated participant you can not truly understand and be involved in the conversation and the movements and activities that the community takes on.

THOUGHTS:
I enjoyed Gee's article a lot. Much of what he says and the terms he use are similar to something we are learning about in my sociology class. We are talking about institutions, the statuses, roles, and other things that make up the institutions and what makes them run properly. Much of what Gee says makes me think that he could possibly do some writing for a sociology book.