Quote 1: “In consequence, when a university becomes established in a town, the presence of this constellation of discourse communities influences the wider urban environment; as a result, the urban environment provides services that are helpful to the university, such as cheap student housing, cheap restaurants, museums, and more bookshops, which in turn further consolidates our sense of a university town like Cambridge, Heidelberg, or Uppsala.”
Response: What I found interesting about this quote is that it easily provides a more relatable example as to what a discourse community is. The quote implies that discourse communities can potentially form an almost symbiotic relationship where different communites can benefit each other.
Quote 2: “Focal communities are the opposite in many ways of local ones. They are typically associations of some kind that reach across a region, a nation, and internationally. They may be informal groupings or more formal ones with rules, elections and paid memberships”
Response: This quote sheds some light on discourse communities that have a much larger outreach than their local area. One example that comes to mind is PETA. The one thing I do find myself interested in is the paid membership aspect. For the regular discourse community, it seemed more like a community effort that anyone can take part in. The option of having a paywall in order to take part in something like this seems a bit more perplexing. I find it very intriguing how a focal community differs so much from a discourse community despite being the same concept at its core
One of the three discourse communities that I participate in is the animation community. Some of the basic values that are instilled in the community is hard work, determination, and creativity. One assumption of the community is that those who are participating in it have a burning passion for animation, and that they have the desire to get better at it. One of the ways of communicating in the animation industry is through the internet, as most people tend to upload their animations digitally.
Another discourse community that I took part in was my high school’s Senior Counsel. One of our goals was to make sure that our senior year activities such as prom, senior trip, fundraisers, and other miscellaneous events were successful. Our assumption was that everyone in our senior classes wanted to have a good senior year and that they trusted us enough to make all of the decisions and that we would benefit the rest of the class. Our main way of communication was physical meetings with both students and staff alike.
The final discourse group that I am a part of is my local church. The main goal of my church is to help people in any way they can. Though I am not religious, I do find the cause of my church noble. We help to feed the homeless and raise funds for schools and other causes. Our assumption is that the community needs help. The main way communication is done is through weekly meetings where we discuss many things such as planning events and raising money for charity.
Great work! And good point on paying to be part of a DC. You have great examples here, including PETA which you mention but don’t use as on of the DCs you list. Some things to consider are–the ways of communicating in your animation community and are there particular sites that you all use–what is the language of this community. As for the local, church you might think about the denomination and how that adds another level to the DC–of beliefs and values.