DISCUSSION ESSAY
For this assignment you will analyze the communication of a co-culture (a culture within a larger culture) in which you are a part. We are all a part of some co-culture. You will write this analysis as satire like you will read in the Nacirema (American backwards) reading. (See the link for this assignment) This reading is intended to show how anthropoligists have a hard time seeing things from outside of their perspective and showing how this perspective can influence how we understand cultures in ways that might not be how the members of the culture understand themselves.
With respect to the anthropological approach you are required to identify three key communication behaviors of the co-culture. Like the Nacirema culture. reading, we want you to pick behaviors that can help us get an introduction to common communication practices within the co-culture. Notice the real value of the Nacerima reading is that it presents the observances in detail so that we can get a real sense of what it is describing. We want you to do the same thing with respect to communication within the co-culture. Notice how I keep saying communication.
Your essay must be at least 1200 words. What this means is you are going to have to spend some time with each communication behavior. We want depth of analysis and discussion. Really think about how you can elaborate regarding the communication behavior. This might mean including different examples of talk to support your claim or discussing sub-categories within a larger category (for example, a larger category of insults and then sub-categories of different types of insults.) The choice is up to you what you do.
