Niko Nemceff
Maj. Garriott
ERH 101-03: Writing and Rhetoric
15 July 2016
Help Received:
Cameron Nagle NN
Jack Neenan NN
Writing Center NN
Taylor McGregor NN
Micheal McNamara NN
Justin Sells NN
Word Count: 1073
Discourse Community Analysis
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is an organization that has thousands of civil engineering members in countries all over the world (ASCE).7 The ASCE is the head of multiple tasks which some of them are: to plan, construct, and to protect and restore the environment (ASCE). Through the expertise that the organization has, it is the number one provider for technical and professional meetings, furthering education, and it is the biggest publisher of civil engineering content (ASCE). The ASCE is designed to provide essential value to their members and their collaborators, advance civil engineering, as well as to serve the public good (ASCE). Some of the ways that the ASCE carries out their mission are to: further develop technology, advocate infrastructure and environmental protection, and to develop civil engineer leaders (ASCE). Ewa Bauer’s, “Why We Need Renaissance Engineers: Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Phase II Case Study” affiliates with the characteristics of Swales’ theory on discourse community while also exemplifying Gee’s theory of secondary Discourse. For instance, the “renaissance” engineers have the goal of re-enforcing the Golden Gate Bridge (characteristic #1). In order for them to achieve that goal they need “standard” engineers (novices) to become a “renaissance” engineer (expert) (Gee’s dominant Discourse). And also there are benefits of being a “renaissance” engineer than a so called “standard” engineer has (Gee secondary Diescourse).
This article talks about the project of re-enforcing the Golden Gate Bridge in order for it to withstand a seismic event (Bauer). The location of the Golden Gate Bridge has an impact on its stability. It is in Seismic Zone four and is in between two major earthquake faults: the San Andreas Fault (seven miles west), and the Hayward Fault (ten miles east). Making it prone to earthquakes, engineers need to have a large range of skills to fulfill the requirements as a role of an innovator to make sure the structure can tolerate even the largest scale earthquake (Bauer). They also have to have the qualities as a “renaissance” engineer such as being well educated and/or exceeds in a wide variety of professions/fields (Bauer). These qualities allow the engineers to incorporate construction knowledge into the design/blueprint process and then use it for the construction process (Bauer). This project is significant by showing success for civil engineers to “possess solid technical expertise coupled with a cross-disciplinary knowledge of design and construction” (Bauer).
A discourse community is a group of people that have a broad set of shared goals (Swales 220). These goals are public, and in some cases these goals can be high level or abstract (Swales 220). The engineers mission is to check, fix, and re-enforce the Golden Gate Bridge. The “renaissance” engineers have the correct education in order to accomplish the goal that they are challenged to achieve (Bauer). They have the higher ability as well as flexibility to be the best type of engineers to get the job done. By reinforcing the bridge, they will have completed an incredible and insane project. And the outcome? To be able to keep the bridge functional and still for it to be one of the biggest tourist attractions that it is. Also to restore this old monumental bridge so it can last for years to come. This shows how this discourse community is able to communicate a common goal by seeing this bridge withstand an earthquake and to last for a life time.
Secondary Discourse is after the process of inner home socializing and then collaborate with public institutions (such as schools and organizations) (Gee par 10). Which then one will learn and gain at least one Discourse and then work with in that certain Discourse (Gee par 10). The point of this article is to get your typical “standard” engineer and to become a more flexible and knowledgeable engineer like the “renaissance” engineer. In which to carry out this transition, one must learn the new knowledge that a “renaissance” engineer acquires. So they would have to go to an institution like Gee discussed to gain this knowledge. And then be able to work in that Discourse which in this case is civil engineering. After this process of being a novice and learning the ways of an expert, they then become an expert and are eligible to work on the “Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Phase II Case Study” (Bauer). This shows how this Discourse community has to be taught and learned by an expert at an institution in order to become an export.
Dominant Discourse is a secondary Discourse in which at a certain place and time, brings the potential of obtaining social “goods” (Gee par 11). Money, reputation, and status are all examples of these “goods” (Gee par 11). Becoming a “renaissance” engineer and being able to call yourself one is a new mile post in your engineering status. To be able to achieve a higher skill set in the civil engineering Discourse community. Also if you become a “renaissance” engineer, there are different benefits of being one. More complicated and specialized construction jobs have increased during the past fifty years (Bauer). Which increases the need for those flexible and higher skilled workers like the “renaissance” engineers. So changing from a novice to an expert through learning the skills at an institution will be worth it since there is a demand for those skills. Another benefit is that the starting salary for a civil engineer is around $79,000 (King). This shows how this Discourse community has multiple benefits or social “goods” of entering and becoming a civil engineer.
The construction of this article tells us the importance of a “renaissance” engineer. How they are more knowledgeable and flexible than a “standard” engineer, and why one should become one. Becoming an expert engineer, the projects will test and challenge your skill set in all sorts of manners. But the rewards of being a successful engineer and completing the different projects that you will confront will be great.
Work Cited
ASCE (2015): n. pag. Web.
Gee, James P. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction.” Journal of Education 171.1 (1989): 5–17. Print.
Wardle, Elizabeth and Doug Downs. Writing About Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. Print
Bauer Ewa, Cindy L. Menches, “Why We Need Renaissance Engineers: Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Phase II Case Study.” 137(10): 901-905 (2015)
King, Michael (2012): n. pag. Web.