Discourse community

These common goals are what define and bind a socio-rhetorical network, and are expressed in a shared communicative purpose.

“socio-rhetorical networks that form in order to work towards sets of common goals” (Swales, 9)

Culture: discourse and power

• Culture includes characteristics, taboos, boundaries, relationships that identifies what is officially sanctioned.

• Being able to use the appropriate discourse equals power.

• Those who do not pass as a “native” in the journals discourse cultures tend to be considered outsiders, and are therefore denied power.

• As a result these outside knowledge-producers are excluded, in spite of the quality, importance, relevance or rigor of their research and writing.

Logodiversity

• Geopolitics of knowledge: discursive diversity is vital as it is the expression of heterogeneous knowledge production.

• Emphasis on linguistic diversity, not only in the sense of idiomatic variety, but also in different styles of academic writing or models of argumentation.

• The dominance of a single language, in this case English, is a threat to the fluidity and the complexity of global knowledge.

Logodiversity

• Need for linguistic heterogeneity and diversity in ways of reasoning.

• Irreplaceable role of situated/local knowledge in crafting viable solutions to local problems.

• Importance of global dialogue.

Types of barriers

(1) Immediate barriers, which include the level of academic English, argumentative style, and register of written language.

(2) Ongoing barriers, which are expressed on a macro-structural level and are reflected in the ideology which permeates the discourse community involved.

“Ideologies are representations of aspects of the world which can be shown to contribute to establishing, maintaining and changing social relations of power, domination and exploitation” (Fairclough, 9).

First barrier: the preeminence of English

The role of English “entails that the coming generation of

the world’s researchers and scholars need – with

relatively few exceptions in the arts and the humanities-

to have more adecquate skills in the English language if

that generation is to make its way without linguistic

disadvantage in its chosen world.” (Swales 1990, 10)

Second barrier: lack of locally-produced knowledge

Third Barrier: Isolation

• Isolation as a silent barrier

• Individuals must participate as writers and readers

• Role of technology in overcoming this barrier

Role of editors and journals

• Editors and peer reviewers yield power.

• Journals can become a center that attracts critical knowledge and that can empower the greater community.

Role of editors and journals