Entering a Discourse
Introduction:
Everyone is born and raised according to primary socialization which in turn gives everyone a Discourse. Although, later on in life, a secondary Discourse will not so easily be achieved. James Paul Gee describes best what Discourses are in his journal Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction.
Exactly how to get into one can also be learned from Amy Cuddy. Cuddy delivered a speech on TED Talk about how “Your Body Shapes Who You Are.” She hit on a very interesting point about “faking it till you become it”(Cuddy 15:35) which can be used to enter a secondary Discourse.
Discourse:
Getting into a secondary Discourse is nearly impossible to accomplish. It is not as simple as knowing parts of a certain Discourse and automatically thinking “I’m part of it.” Gee was and still is an expert at Discourses, and knowing how even though one may think they are in one they really aren’t. There is no in between when it comes to Discourses, “you are either in it or you’re not”(Gee 9).
Many people think that they have made it into their secondary Discourse just because they know a little about it. Although it is not as simple as that, it is much more complex. Even not knowing a small part about that particular Discourse causes someone not to be in it at all.
Gee explains how Discourses are part of one’s identity like it is part of one’s self. It is like “Discourses are connected with displays of an identity”(Gee 9–10). A person cannot be walking around saying that they are someone famous, but when talked to, have no actual knowledge about the famous person they are trying to be.
Cuddy talks about identity as well after she had gotten in a car accident. “I really struggled with this, and I have to say, having your identity taken from you … there’s nothing that leaves you feeling more powerless than that”(Cuddy 16:43).
Cuddy’s fake it:
Faking being in a Discourse will ease in time so that one is able to get the knowledge that is needed to actually be in it. Faking it will not get one into a discourse, but will give the confidence to work one’s way up to getting there.
Cuddy talks a lot about faking it to make it through life and has many examples of how it works. Like when she was in a car accident as she described,
“And I woke up in a head injury rehab ward, and I had been withdrawn from college, and I learned that my I.Q. had dropped two standard deviations, which was very traumatic”(Cuddy 16:06).
She challenged those who opposed her getting back into college, and used faking it to help her get to the top. Cuddy goes on to tell herself and others her famous saying “Fake it till you make it,”(15:35) which is one of the main points in the end of her speech.
Gee’s mushfake:
Not anyone can fake being in a secondary Discourse for their whole life. At one point they will not be able to demonstrate a certain thing that is needed for that Discourse.
Instead, one must be, “Making do with something less when the real thing is not available”(Gee 13). Gee uses this to explain what mushfake is, and it is nearly the same concept as Cuddy’s fake it proposal.
Mushfake seems to be a little more specific than just faking it. Both explain that it is using a lesser thing to get to a greater thing. Likewise faking it only makes a pathway from a primary Discourse to actually becoming a member of a secondary Discourse. A primary Discourse is part of someone’s self and is unique to where they are from, how they talk, what culture they have, etc.
Impressions:
First impressions, which need body language, are always the most important part of meeting people or starting with something new. First impression will work the same way when it comes to Discourses. If someone wants to join a secondary Discourse, they have to use their primary Discourse first to become interested in one.
This is where one will go for the dominant Discourses. Dominant Discourses are the ones that bring goods into one’s life. Gee says, “Brings with it the (potential) acquisition of social “goods” (money, prestige, status, etc.)”(8) No one is going to want to pursue something that negatively affected their life when they first encountered it.
These two differences can greatly affect the kind of first impression someone might get when encountering a possible secondary Discourse. Not only is finding a Discourse using great first impressions needed, but also finding one that is already close would be helpful.
It would be a lot easier if someone was trying to get into a Discourse that they might already have a foot in. Going back to primary Discourses“Further, aspects and pieces of the primary Discourse become a “carrier” or “foundation” for Discourse acquired later in life”(Gee 8). Acquiring a Discourse close to home could lead to other Discourses. Having that background is helpful.
All tips:
Primary Discourses are the easiest Discourse to achieve in life. Secondary Discourses though they are harder to are possible to acquire. Using these tips are going to increase one’s chances of getting into a secondary Discourse greatly.
Faking it to acquire the time to get the right knowledge about a Discourse. Using good body language in first impressions are needed to show that one is truly allowed in that Discourse. Making sure that primary Discourses really do link in some way to secondary will make the task much easier.
Gee may contradict himself by saying everyone can, and then not just everyone can get into a secondary Discourse. Using Cuddy and Gee’s ideas combined allows that pathway to a Discourse to become much clearer for all. Meaning if following the right steps a secondary Discourse is very much possible.
Works cited:
Cuddy, Amy. “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.” TED Talk. Edinburgh, Scotland. June 2012. Speech.
Gee, James Paul. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction.” Journal of Education 171.1 (1989): 5–17. print.
