Elizabeth Wardle’s Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces, studies Alan, a computer support specialist, who obtained a job after college. He graduated with a B.A. in Art and Design and swiftly adjusted to his new found position in this company. However, Wardle’s studies showed that Alan had a hard time conforming to the discourse communities way of sending emails. How does someone retain their own identity within a community that requires a specific way to do the task?
Identity
Within the discourse community at Alan’s company has authority over how he writes, he hasn’t been given the freedom to leave his own mark. In my last blog post, Authority Without an Author, I asked how much research goes into a writers’ work. For this blog, I ask how much of an individuals identity should be expressed through writing?
In Alan’s discourse community, he was restricted from his job with expressing his own way of writing. His options were to conform or find new ways to express. As a writer, I find it to be difficult in expressing ones work without expressing what makes me, well, me. This is to still have it come across to the reader that they know who is writing.
One’s own identity in a discourse community is absolutely crucial. It gives the person a purpose and reason. It helps them feel and show that they are important in what they do. Within a discourse community, an individuals’ skills are so crucial and important for the job. If one were to take that away, then what really is there left for someone in a discourse community?
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