Case Study In The Sooners By John Swales

The University of Oklahoma currently supports several active student groups that can be classified as discourse communities according to the criteria set by John Swales. One such group is the Secular Sooners, a community on campus that seeks to “provide common ground for people with a secular world view” (Lunde). However, many of these groups differ in the ways that they accomplish their goals, and indeed in the goals that they have set. Additionally, they utilize varying methods of intercommunication to aid in attaining these goals. As such, there is not one catch-all method to describe all the discourse communities on campus, thus necessitating further study. Therefore, in this paper I will compile several primary sources, including observation

Through communications between members, the group plans events, holds discussions, and expands its knowledge. These communications occur in three main ways: by email, Facebook, and in-person conversations. The first method of intercommunication – email – is used to share a calendar of events for the month or week. This allows members to remain informed about events that will be occurring and to provide input to allow for scheduling needs. The second method is Facebook, which allows members of the Secular Sooners to hold informal discussions without worrying about time constraints, or to RSVP to events or respond to surveys. According to Tanner Tibbets, the president of Secular Sooners, “[…members] use Facebook to share articles or stories, or something that’s been bugging them, and they can hash it out with other members there” (Tibbets). The final method of intercommunication is through in-person conversation and discussion. This allows members to meet face-to-face and discuss issues or spread ideas in a community setting. In fact, the Secular Sooners hold several discussion events each week, occasionally with speakers who will share information to expand the group’s knowledge. In this way, intercommunication functions within this group as a way to increase knowledge and share ideas with other people in a way most convenient for

Um, they can interact on our Facebook pages, which is where they usually share articles or stories, or something that’s been bugging them and they can hash it out with members of the group there. Um, our members also interact in person at our events, specifically our coffee and conversation nights, uh they can come there and talk about things. This last one we had a choice of three topics, like what do you guys want to talk about, what’s been in the news and we can just discuss it and not feel pressured like you might with other friends.”