We don’t have class this coming Wednesday, September 15, but I hope you’ll be ready to continue our discussion of Discourse Communities when we do meet on Wednesday, September 22!

In preparation for that seemingly far-off date, please read the quote below:

There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.

M. Scott Peck

Be ready to talk about these questions when we meet on Wednesday, September 22:

  • What does Peck mean by this quote?
  • Do you agree or disagree with him? Why?
  • Have you seen this idea in action? How?
  • How does this quote relate to our discussion on discourse communities?

Even though we aren’t meeting, I want you to consider this a week for ENG1121 students to be thoughtful.

You may think: “What does the professor mean by thoughtful?”

First, you’ll hopefully have completed the assignments I posted in Week 3 and repeated in Week 4‘s Agendas. You’ve also examined the nuts and bolts of Unit 1’s major writing assignment, started thinking about which discourse community you’ll use, whether you’ll write a speech or a letter, and the audience you’ll be speaking to about your discourse community. All these things required some thought and introspection!

Second, you’re going to need to make decisions about the things I mentioned above. You’ll have time during class on Wednesday, September 22, of course, but you’ll have to spend time working on this on your own. (The first draft is due October 6, so, time is limited!)

Finally, the homework I’ve assigned for this week will help you decide the genre (letter or speech) of your U1 assignment, and can serve as good examples to follow!

The details are on the Agenda for Week 4!