Reading Response #15 (Gee)

Getting Ready to Read
Two activities that I participate in are my classes and singing. For the most part, they remain very separate from each other. School requires a lot of thought, of course, but when I'm singing, it almost requires more, mostly because it's something that I rarely do anymore. I have to think more about what I'm doing, and sometimes it's frustrating.

Summary
In his article "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics," Gee explains the differences between Discourses, grammar, and linguistics. He specifically puts an emphasis on how Discourse can shape a person.

Synthesis
This article is very similar to the Swales article that we read, mostly because of the fact that it deals with discourse. However, the two have differing opinions, because while Swales believes that it is we who make the discourse community, Gee believes that Discourse makes us.

QDJ
Gee is saying what I essentially say in my Project 1 paper: grammar only matters in a specific context. Naturally, we were not taught this in school; we were always taught that grammar is very important and should be attended to.

Synthesis
I thought this article proved very interesting, especially since we read it right after reading the Swales piece. I also really find it interesting that Gee believes that Discourse is a natural part of us, and it will definitely make me think before picking a discourse community for Project 3.