A discourse community is a group of individuals who use unique
styles of communication or discourse to achieve a set of common goals.
Our research attempted to situate Purdue University's crew team within the context of such a discourse community. This blog
was created in order to present our findings as part of an English 106
assignment at Purdue.
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The call for the final sprint came from the coxswain at the stern of the boat. Our coxswain looked to his left and right, relaying to our crew that it was a close fight to the finish. Placing our blades in the water we rapidly pushed the boat further down the racecourse towards the finish line. Powering through the finish line we barely ended with our bow in front. Throughout this race our crew worked like a machine, each cog fitting into another, each catch perfectly in time. This clockwork teamwork was all led by the voice of our coxswain. There was also a tacit agreement, a creed among each rower, a dedication, a level of respect, responsibility to each other. Everyone was pulling their weight, contributing to the boat. We were pulling for each other with each other, until the final stroke.
We have researched
what makes the member of a crew part of a discourse community. By definition a discourse community is a
unique group that has its own way of communicating and thinking. In our research we have primarily focused on
the characteristics outlined by John Swales in “The Concept of Discourse Community.” Henceforth we have studied common goals
among members, participatory mechanisms, the exchange of information, community
specific genres, specialized terminology among members, as well as their
varying level of expertise.
Through the utilization of our primary research, it did not prove
to be difficult to verify that Purdue’s crew team is a discourse community. We
found through our research that each of Swales’s criteria were met. Even though
members had different reasons for getting started, they had the same reasons
for staying committed to crew. The interviews we conducted revealed that goals
and motivation stemmed deeper than a simple desire to win. On a personal level,
it was evident that there was quite a bit of comradely. This is mostly what
keeps people going. Also it didn't hurt that rowing is an excellent workout.
Speaking with the coach gave a top down perspective on the team’s motivations
and goals. He noted that everyone on the team had a strong desire to achieve
highly.
