What does it mean to have an identity in writing?
To answer this question, first, what is an identity in the context of writing? Wenger defined identity as a bargained experience… a combination of participation and materialist worldview moments that allow our perspective and social understanding to inform one another. Wenger continues to explain that a newcomer, in the context of a workplace, in order to find their “unique identities” need to choose levels of engagement. After reading the list of levels of engagement, couldn’t help but think about when applying for a job, ironic I know, that person googles the workplace and searches for the goal, the teamwork traits, and whether or not the values and morals of the job something I can get behind. Once all of the boxes get checked off, Wenger then says that new members basically must become “one of the guys” doing the work that other people in the community do, writing is the obvious and most important part. Because the “newbies” have to acclimate to the community’s writing style, they also have to make sure that those writing conventions are aligned with the aforementioned vision of themselves, a mouthful for sure. This then will lead to what she calls “identity construction.” It no longer is about learning a new skill but also about being aware of opportunities for one’s identity to grow and change over time.
But how does all of this, affect a person’s writing? It’s very simple. Because entering into a new workplace community causes newbies to engage in new practices, especially in writing. For example, newbie Rory was reprimanded by her editor because she did not write her critique of the lobster bisque in the appropriate style for a food section, Rory will then write the next article more restrained and possibly with a little less color or personality, than the article about the lobster bisque from hell. Wardle eloquently phrased it as follows “If new workers fail to write in ways that a workplace community of practice recognizes as effective and appropriate, the reasons may be related to identity rather than ability: “Stylistic options ‘leak’ clues about writers’ social identities. Rhetorical choices help writers construct the social identities they wish to project in given writing episodes”. Rory was talked down to in the previous example, and because her boss decided her work was not appropriate enough, whatever thought process and emotions that she experienced socially, made her bleed into her next article, by writing a more restrained critique on Branzino.
Authority
Authority has been appointed to a person or an institution. Because of this, they take on the role of the expert in the given field. Community members view them with respect for their speech and their actions. Authority is as tangible as toilet paper during COVID, it’s intangible. Despite this, people still listen to people who have recognized authorities because that is who they are. Some examples are Pastors at a church, a Doctor, any and all first responders, and many others. Rory can also be given some kind of authority, even as a newbie by her boss. But our precious Rory can also fall from grace and have that authority taken away because she failed to learn how to speak in a way that aligned with that given community. This is also a real-life example that I do on a daily basis. When I am on campus, hanging out with my school friends, I know that I have the ability to speak differently than if I were to be in front of my students in my children’s church. On campus with my friends, it’s more informal, with lots of slang and cursing while in the religious community that I am in, I tend to speak more formally, more biblical, and use a larger vocabulary in another language. If I were to speak to the church in the same way as I do on campus, my “authority” as children’s leader would immediately be suspended.
To write with either, authority or identity, goes beyond knowing that these are necessary in ones writing. It’s about being able to write in a community that you identify with, and choosing when to speak, or write in this case, in the appropriate manner that is required in that community. When these things are not taken into consideration, you can possibly end up like Rory, writing a restrained and forced criticism of the local seafood cuisine.
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