tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72254915330783455822024-03-14T07:08:37.286-04:00mommy back at college!the day to day journaling of a mommy of five returning to college after a 20 year hiatus.Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-74071198280500503562012-06-04T00:03:00.000-04:002012-06-04T00:03:14.616-04:00Transformed African Retentions and their Influence on American Culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4inshJmmZF8RDFKXC0FfoAYh1_Lb365DMO-fj0q6S74EXenqAMy74qLIXg2VEknAx6X7ozS1m0kVGITqjdapLdfX2p9L2KRf-jwOmnj8znh1azH5x47hvCwvkeFwU-EiyixALXKtYE2k/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4inshJmmZF8RDFKXC0FfoAYh1_Lb365DMO-fj0q6S74EXenqAMy74qLIXg2VEknAx6X7ozS1m0kVGITqjdapLdfX2p9L2KRf-jwOmnj8znh1azH5x47hvCwvkeFwU-EiyixALXKtYE2k/s400/Unknown.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Historians of the African diaspora have long
debated whether African slaves in the Americas retained or lost their African
identity upon arrival to the New World. Many Anthropologists and scholars cite
language and naming practices, planting techniques, cuisine and religion as
evidence that slaves who survived the Middle Passage preserved fragments of
their former societies in Africa when transported to the Caribbean and North
America. Conversely, other scholars questioned how the heinous environment of
slavery could allow African men and women to maintain their homeland culture
and traditions. After reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africanisms
in American Culture</i>, it is clear to me that African slaves in the New World
retained many of their African cultural facets, including aspects of language
and religion. However, these retentions were impacted by the conditions of
slavery, resulting in an entirely new cultural phenomenon, which is what we
currently understand as purely African American. In a nutshell, African customs
did not survive, they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transformed</i>. This
transformed, newly labeled “African American culture” in turn then transformed
white American heritage, culture, and linguistics. This treatise seeks to
examine how retentions of African language and religion were impacted and
transformed by the oppression of slavery, and how these newly transformed
retentions created common facets of American culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In his essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The African Heritage of White America</i>, John Edward Philips argued
that the main triumph of the text <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africanisms
in American Culture</i> was that it caused increasing acceptance of the idea
that much of white American culture comes directly from Africa <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>(Philips
372). One path to understanding or accepting this claim by Philips is to ask if
one is seeking to find what makes black Americans <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different </i>from white Americans or what makes black and white
Americans <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">alike</i>? What, then, makes
Americans both black and white uniquely American? To discover these truths, do we
seek to find African retentions amongst African Americans and white European
influences amongst African Americans, or do we seek to find African or African
American influences amongst American whites? It comes as no surprise to me that
the answer to this last question is a resounding “all of the above.” Philips
stated: “scholars trained in European studies have tended to regard many
aspects of African American culture as of European origin, while scholars
trained in African studies have considered the same traits to be of African
origin. Those trained only as Americanists seem to have accepted uncritically
whatever they read, or whatever fit their prejudices…{therefore} a scholar
wishing to write a definitive history of African cultural survivals must
acquire a triple expertise: as an Americanist, an Africanist, and a
Europeanist”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>(Philips
391). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Upon trying to grasp this theory, I
attempted to conjure metaphors for the newly transplanted African, the
oppression of slavery, and the impact of these on white America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us say then, the Africans upon arrival to
the New World were beautiful, pure, and perfect pieces of unadulterated Carbon.
White America itself was then the rock (environment) in which this Carbon was
relocated to. The oppressive, unjust, and cruel hardship of slavery then bore down
upon the Carbon, exuding heat and pressure. The Carbon, which had slowly formed
into its current state over a history of three billion years, was then
transformed into a diamond, something that looked entirely different, yet was
elementally the same. (Please note this is NOT to imply that the oppression of
slavery turned the Africans into something <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">better
</i>than what they were before. That is not my intent at all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This metaphor is meant to illustrate the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">change</i> that occurred to the carbon, all
while maintaining some of its sameness. Please assume both the carbon and the
diamond are of equal beauty and value.) The impact of this change from carbon
to diamond directly changed the surrounding rock and landscape forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of the carbon and the heat from the
magma was released into the surrounding rocks, making them elementally the
same, yet different in shape, form and structure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All involved in the process were forever
changed: the carbon, the diamond, the surrounding rock and environment, and
even the heat that caused the transformation. They were elementally the same,
but now forever intertwined due to the experience. The diamond had to adjust to
its new appearance and it’s new environment, the heat was lost in the
transformation process, and the surrounding rock and environment took on the
emitting carbon and became something new and different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None involved would be the same if not for
the direct influence of the other. Let us then examine some of the African
retentions that transformed into a part of African American culture, as well as
the conditions in which this occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
goes without saying that living and working conditions of the African American slaves
were deplorable, especially in the Southern states, where slavery thrived after
the American Revolution as a result of the booming cotton industry. Prior to
the revolution, most slaves in both the Northern and Southern United States
were indentured, meaning that after an agreed-upon period of usually three-four
years, the slave could freely go, having “paid-off” their passage to the New
World.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indentured servants were both
black and white, and were treated with at least a moderate level of decency.
This is a stark contrast to “chattel slavery” which was the predominant system
in the South after the Revolution. In the Chattel system, the slave, (men and
women and their descendants) were “owned” by their masters for life. Key to the
chattel system was the belief that slaves were to be black and masters were to
be white. In this system of slavery, (by far the worse of the two), slaves were
subjected to terrible living conditions, poor nutrition, and psychological
maltreatment. Men were beaten to instill fear, and deter rebellion and escape.
Women were frequently raped and forced to bear children in order to increase
the slave population. Children were oftentimes traded to other plantations,
separating them from their mothers care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gatherings were prohibited, for fear of mass revolt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The slaves were treated as merely working
animals, rather than the human beings that they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, by any definition, slavery in
eighteenth century America was a mass violation of what now is commonly
accepted as base- level human rights, and a shameful part of America’s past. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
is easy, then, to at least consider the argument of E. Franklin Frazier in
regards to African retentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could
Africans possibly retain any of their culture, heritage or tradition among the
devastating conditions of American slavery? The answer to this is question is now
clear (as mentioned above.). It was by the African American slave’s ability to
adapt or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transform</i> important, key
elements of their African culture and tradition into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">new</i> cultures and traditions that were a mixture of the past and the
present, all while under intense scrutiny and oppression. The resulting
cultures and traditions reflected a little of the old, a little of the new, and
a little of something entirely different. The clearest example of this exists
in the linguistic patterns of African Americans, referred to in the twenty
first century as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ebonics</i>. In this
newly formed language, it is possible to see a lexicon and verb conjugation pattern
that is consistent with African language, a lexicon framework that is based on
the Standard English of the white Americans, and intonations and inflections
that are of completely unknown origin, that is, they are new and unique to this
demographic. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
his essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Elements in African
American English</i>, Molefi Kete Asante made a very plausible argument in
defense of the retention of African linguistics in the linguistic behaviors of
African Americans. The primary strength of his argument existed in the flow he
created documenting the West African languages of Niger-Congo, to
Pidginization, to Creolization, to Englishizatioin, (or Ebonics.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asante exemplified how Ebonics contains
structural remnants of certain African languages while maintaining an
overwhelmingly English vocabulary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
structural elements are particularly noticeable in the use of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aspect </i>rather that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tense </i>in many verb conjugations and constructions. One example of
this is the Niger-Congo tense-aspect of present (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he go</i>), near past (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he gone</i>),
remote past (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he been gone</i>), future (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he going to go</i>), aspect of progress (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he going</i>), aspect of completion (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he done gone</i>), and past aspect of
repetition (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he been going</i>.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This pattern of West African verb conjugation
is obvious in American Ebonics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
relationship between the verbs within a given construction is also of great
importance and a major difference between American Ebonics and English. Asante
explained: “In some sentences Ebonics speakers use several verbs, whereas
Standard English has available a single verb to express the completed action”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>(Asante
75). Examples of this include “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turn loose
and drap down from dar</i>” (Come down from there),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I hear
tell you went home</i>” (I hear that you went home), “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Go home and see about those children</i>” (go home and attend to those
children) and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he picked up and went to
town”</i> (he went to town) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> (Asante
76). Asante pointed out that giving every action a verb and using verb tenses
that are grammatically incorrect in Standard English is a common practice by
African Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the sentences <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He
clumb de tree to shake de simmons down whilst I be pickin em up</i>” and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fore I knowed it I done fell slap to sleep</i>”,
examples of African origin in the sentences include “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he clumb</i>”, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I be pickin em up</i>”,
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">de</i>”, and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I knowed it</i>.” In the very same sentence, white European Standard
English origins are notable in “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whilst</i>”.
An entirely new and previously unknown (at that time) linguistic pattern which
became a mainstay in current Ebonics is seen in these sentences in the
insertion of new words, meant to shorten the existing Standard English lexicon,
such as “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">simmons</i>” (for persimmons),
and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">slap</i>” (for straight). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The theory of cultural retention of
African linguistics is more controversial in the twenty-first century than
ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2009, the 11<sup>th</sup>
annual Harlem Book Fair hosted a panel discussion entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"We Be You Are They Is: Black English, Language, and Culture</i>”,
which was filmed and now available for viewing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The panelists discussed whether a nonstandard language such as
"Black English" should be deemed inferior, and the problems of
transferring between languages. The discussion highlighted three main features
of language: the concept that language provides a sense of identity and defines
ones sense of placement within society and time; the difference between they
style of language we use in personal and intimate relationships vs. the
language used in more formal academic or workplace environments; and the great
variety of English spoken across this country and this world, of which Ebonics
is but one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The major points of
this panel presentation were very consistent with the writings and theories of
Asante, in that the panelists agreed in the importance of the connection that
Ebonics provides to blacks, both with their African past, and with each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speakers of African English,
according to the panelists, are no different than any other American who speaks
English as a second language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
strongest argument that was made by the panel was the need for black children
to learn <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when</i> to use Ebonics or what
they referred to as “rap culture English” and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when </i>to use Standard English. Exemplified in the discussion were
the differences between home language and culture, and school language and
culture, as well as the media and the lack of respect for Africa, and African
American people in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Upon critically
examining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why </i>the slaves of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and black Americans today accept and
frequently adopt a different linguistic pattern, similarities of circumstance arise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, we must not dismiss tradition. The
African American slaves desperately needed to hold on to some semblance of
their past, and language provided for them a connection to something familiar
in a very unfriendly and unfamiliar new world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Likewise, African Americans today, who like all Americans are adjusting
to new a social structure which places families at great distances from one
another, can find a connection with their personal pasts through language
shared with other blacks, albeit not family members. Second, The African slaves
needed a way to communicate with each other in a way that white slave owners
would not understand, thereby protecting themselves from potential harm in
precarious circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some African
Americans today also feel the need to be able to communicate in a manner in
which surrounding whites will not understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a white female, I can only speculate as to why this is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possible reasons include protecting each
other in situations where they are threatened by racist acts of violence or
discrimination, or to make light, or find humor in the differences between
blacks and whites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, and what I
believe to be most importantly, African Slaves felt the need to connect with
others who were like them and find solace and comfort in the fact that they
were not alone, but were suffering together as a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same can be said for African Americans today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One merely needs to look at some of the bleak
statistics of life as a twenty-first century African American to understand why
solace and comfort are needed. High incarnation rates, low education levels,
widespread poverty, and large numbers of children abandoned to the foster care
system illustrate a black America that is suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the African American, it could seem as
though the world is against them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sharing the bond of language, then, provides unity and a show of
resilience against all hardships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
addition to retaining some of their African culture, (as the aforementioned
example of linguistics illustrates), African Americans also adapted some of
their African retentions as a process, or technique for survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is most clearly exemplified in the
religious practices of the slaves of the Sea Islands of coastal Georgia and
South Carolina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Known as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gullah, </i>the African Americans of the Sea
Islands retained the primary </span>cosmological and ontological theologies
known to them in their religious and spiritual life in Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These core concepts, which when combined
formed the basis of the Gullah religious experience, included recognition of
the creator of the universe (known as the Supreme Being), recognition and
acceptance of the Spirits (both of evil and of ancestors), the respect and
value of human life, the use of plants and animals (in the creation of
talismans and as recognized members of the universe), and in the phenomena of
special powers (associated with non-living things.) The Gullah religious
worldview was rooted in African spirituality. In reading Margaret Washington’s
essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gullah Attitudes towards Life and
Death</i>, one comes to the conclusion that the Gullah were a people who were
totally immersed in their religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact, life and religion could not be separated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One could not “be” without the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To be detached from the religion of ones family, as Washington writes,
“is to be severed from his roots, his foundation, his context of security, his
kinships, and the entire group of those who made him aware of his
existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be without one of these
elements in life is to be without the whole picture…African peoples do not know
how to exist without religion”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>(Washington
152) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Known as mysticism
within the realm of spirituality, the concept of the Supreme God within all
created a connectedness between humans and all living things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is pointed out in Washington’s essay, as
she explained how humans really consisted of two entities: the outer and the
inner being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Known as the outer being,
the body was just a shell, which was created to eventually rot and decay. The
inner being was divided into two parts: one’s personal life, and more
significant to this discussion, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kivuumuni,</i>
which was the agent of life and breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Neither death, nor evil spirits nor hoodoo amulets or charms could
destroy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kivuumuni</i> was the very essence of life itself, and was the mystical
notion of the experience of the Supreme Being, or the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ngewo </i>within.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was this
connection that allowed Africans of several geographic areas to acculturate
with each other before they acculturated with the native whites thereby
providing a sense of connectedness and hope in what seemed like a hopeless
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although from different
regions of Africa, the slaves shared amongst them the same creator, and breath
of life. As time passed, and as the Methodist, Episcopal and Baptist
missionaries worked hard to convert the Sea Islands, the concept of the Supreme
Being became the “Jesus” of the Christians. While the religion of voodoo and
it’s hoodoo practices thrived and melded with the Roman Catholic base in
amongst the Africans of New Orleans, the Gullah adapted their religion and
their concept of the Supreme Being with the more Pentecostal Baptist,
Methodist, and later the Episcopalians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This sometimes created conflict and disconnect amongst the older Gullah
and the younger more acculturated Gullah. The film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust</i>, directed and produced by Julie Dash,
illustrates this conflict in one of its scenes. The women of the family were
gathered and lamenting over the “old ways” of Nana Peazant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The outspoken daughter –in-law Haagar objects
that Nana<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“doesn’t even pray to Jesus~,
she still believes in the magic of her old tin can”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The daughters and granddaughters of Nana stay
silent on this, as they seem to understand that Nana’s God is the same God as
this Jesus, or at least is experienced in the same way, which at the end of the
day is what really is important. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Another way in
which the Gullah adapted their religious traditions in order to survive was the
African ritual of using water in religious ceremonies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holloway wrote about this in his essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sacred World of the Gullah, </i>comparing
the use of water in baptism amongst the missionaries to the water spirit cults of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibibio</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Calabar, Ijaw, Yoruba, and Grebo</i> of Liberia, who all visited the
river to immerse in the water in order to purify themselves (rid themselves of
any spirit possession)<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>(Holloway
207). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spirit possession rituals of
the Gullah involved shouting, dancing, and entering trance-like states. This
was picked-up by the missionaries and became a popular theme amongst Southern
Pentecostals, where even today dancing and speaking in tongues can be a part of
the worship experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several of the
characters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust </i>make
reference to the spirits of ancestors, or their own future spirit
afterlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, we see Nana
Peazant showing the family the treasured hair of her mother, and presenting to
them the hair, wrapped in herbs and twined to a Bible, for the family to take
with them to the mainland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nana tells
the family this hair is the presence of her mother in their life, (their
“history”) and when she (Nana) passes on, her spirit will be with that of her
mothers in the amulet she created. In this example, we see retentions of the
African religious experience, providing hope and encouragement and
connectedness from one soul to another, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>thereby emphasizing survival. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The importance
placed on the family and the strong sense of kinship exhibited by the Gullah
illustrates their understanding and appreciation for a human<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>life worth living in alliance with
each other. Holloway wrote, “The patrilocal extended family consisted of a
patriarchal head, his wife or wives, his unmarried children, his married sons,
and their wives and children”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
(Holloway 189). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another common family
unit was much more matrifocal family, as the matriarchal traditions of Africa
were reinforced by the forced separation of men and women by the slave owners. Because
of this forced separation, African American families were able to adopt others
outside of the immediate family, and embrace them in the same way one would a
sister or brother. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust</i> clearly illustrates the strong bonds between
extended family, as the families are portrayed as living together, and
celebrating the return of a cousin (Cousin Mary) who had moved to the
mainland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also see exemplified in the
Presenze family, a household seemingly led by the grandmother of the family, containing
far more women than men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one scene of
the film Eula reveals to the family her true feeling about the family leaving
the island, and she expresses how Yellow Mary is a part of her, a part of all
of them. For Eula, her reliance and love of her family is her way of survival. In
order, then to exist in the new and oppressive world of slavery, the Gullah had
to find a way to adapt their beliefs to keep their religiosity in order to
survive. As mentioned above, the Gullah could not separate life from religion,
so therefore their religion had to be adapted to what was deemed more
acceptable to the native whites in order for the Gullah themselves to survive. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Sadly, many look
at the linguistic and religious practices of modern African Americans from the
lens of the twenty first century, with no thought, consideration, or knowledge
of the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, both white and
black Americans share this ignorance. Many take specific issue with American
Ebonics, stating it is the “language of the uneducated”, and “proof that
African American families do not place education at a high level of
importance.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this may be the case
for some African American families, the same could be said of many white
families, who are illiterate and cannot read above a first grade level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many also look to the black churches as a
breeding ground for negativity and promotion of the continuation of
segregation, especially in urban areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Walk into any church in the city of Detroit or its suburbs and you will
find a congregation that is either ninety percent white or ninety percent
black. Dancing, clapping, and speaking in tongues intimidate traditional white
liturgical churches, and very little inter-denominational work is done between
white and black parishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What, then can
be done to inform, educate and make more Americans (both white and black)
knowledgeable of how much of both of their cultures was influenced by African
retentions, and how a new American culture was created by the transformed
African retentions? The first response to this question by most is, of course,
education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But how can we achieve this
when many schools today struggle with the most rudimentary basics such as ABC’s
and 123’s? An idea much broader than just school education and that may have
some impact is a National, federally funded three-year long celebration of the 150th
anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the
passing of the 13<sup>th</sup> amendment in 1865. During these three years,
there could be celebrations in every town with traveling museum exhibits, local
celebrations of African music and dance, culinary festivals featuring
low-country cooking, mini-series documentaries, free family -tree searches by
heritage societies and foundations, reduced travel rates to important sites in
African American history, such as Charleston, New Orleans, Harlem and stops
along the Underground Railroad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Black
and white churches could unite in service projects to help poor black
communities, and the popular media and Hollywood could take “African retention
awareness” as its new cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully,
after three years of information flowing through schools, government and social
celebrations, the population could be flooded with information, resulting in a
greater appreciation for the African traditions that have contributed to the
culture of both white and black Americans. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A remarkable challenge facing historians of
African American slavery is to examine the specific retentions of American
slaves in order to understand the ways in which they were able to adapt to
their new environment, and to carefully discern specific ways in which these
retentions were transformed by the horrific circumstances of slavery. As
demonstrated above, African slaves in the New World retained elements of
African language and religiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
retentions were transformed by the hardships of slavery to become a language
and religion that is uniquely African American, which in turn transformed
aspects of white America as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
in understanding this shared past that we may come to understand each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> John Edward Philips, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The African Heritage of White America</i> Chapter thirteen of classroom
text.</span> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 372</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">John Edward Philips, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The African Heritage of White America</i> Chapter thirteen of classroom
text.</span> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 391</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Molefi Kete Asante, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Elements in African American English </i>Chapter Three of class
text: Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms In American Culture</i>. 2nd.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 75<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Molefi Kete Asante, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Elements in African American English </i>Chapter Three of class
text: Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms In American Culture</i>. 2nd.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 76<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Margaret Washington, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gullah Attitudes toward Life and Death </i>Chapter six of classroom
text. Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms In American Culture</i>. 2nd.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 152<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Joseph E. Holloway, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sacred World of the Gullahs </i>Classroom Text Chapter Seven, Holloway,
Joseph E. <i>Africanisms In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 207<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Joseph E. Holloway, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sacred World of the Gullahs </i>Classroom Text Chapter Seven, Holloway,
Joseph E. <i>Africanisms In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
Univ Pr. 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pg. 189</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-34490680009224006422012-05-27T23:55:00.000-04:002012-05-28T16:06:04.595-04:00African Religiosity Retention in New Orleans: Voodoo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJtII2WN_PGyCrbfCXJXLQncI6QqMKblQ-CDt3vxbqqegXN7Wcva09FOV6W7Unr0CaledwOMmMtM0uNZZrX21Nn2r6iOX1SWen7t9RIf95cSjGcKSnaix7RzCyvGTd1jFdXHawZvwa3Y/s1600/voodoo-ritual-new-orleans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJtII2WN_PGyCrbfCXJXLQncI6QqMKblQ-CDt3vxbqqegXN7Wcva09FOV6W7Unr0CaledwOMmMtM0uNZZrX21Nn2r6iOX1SWen7t9RIf95cSjGcKSnaix7RzCyvGTd1jFdXHawZvwa3Y/s320/voodoo-ritual-new-orleans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
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Upon hearing the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">voodoo, </i>many conjure images of dolls
stuck through with pins, headless chickens spewing blood, aimlessly wandering
zombies, or any number of the horror scenes from the 1989 movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angel Heart.
</i>Few recognize Voodoo as a religion, and fewer still acknowledge its
African roots and the level of comfort and continuity the practice provided to
the enslaved Africans of New Orleans.
Common misconceptions people have about voodoo are that it is merely
magic and not a real religion, that voodoo and hoodoo are the same thing, and
that those who practice voodoo are polytheistic, and even worship the devil
himself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
One way to logically examine and
effectively argue about the religion of voodoo is to compare it to other
religious practices of enslaved Africans in the Americas, specifically in the Sea Islands of
Georgia and South Carolina and the St. Augustine area of Florida.
In doing so, one will find that while the ways the religions of New
Orleans (Voodoo) and the Sea Islands and Florida <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">express</i> their beliefs may be different, the core framework of
monotheistic belief accented by intercession of the spirit world either by
possession or prevention, the use of nonliving items believed to contain
powers, and memberships within secret societies with initiation rites is
essentially the same. Because the
religion of the native whites in the New World varied based on geographic
location, and because the dispersion of the enslaved Africans in the New World
was based upon which area of Africa the American slaveholder desired their
slaves to come from, the resulting acculturation and religiosity of the
Africans looked very different depending on which part of America one
examines. The New Orleans area of
Louisiana received the majority of its African slaves via the French colonies
of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Santo Domingo, which themselves also had
imported slaves from the Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra. They arrived in New Orleans, which was
already an amalgamation of American and French whites whose primary religious
affiliation was Roman Catholic. In
contrast, the slaves of the Sea Islands and Florida arrived to Charleston via
Sierra Leone, the Windward Coast, and the Gold Coast. Known as “low country”, the whites of this
area were mainly of English and Scottish origin, and their primary religious
affiliation was Protestant, specifically Episcopalian, Methodist and
Baptist. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The first common misconception
about Voodoo is that it is not a real religion but merely magic. It is easy to see why one might take this
position, as outwardly many of the practices appear to be magical in
nature. Dancing, spirit possession, and
talismans all look very suspicious, especially to Protestants, who have been
taught that putting faith in anything besides Jesus is a sin. This is one reason why African retentions of
Voodoo have been strongest in areas of America where Roman Catholicism
thrives. Both faiths (Voodoo and Roman Catholic) worship one God
(God the creator vs. the Supreme Being), make intercessory prayers or offerings
to spirits (saints vs. spirits of ancestors), and frequently use non-living
things as a source of power (holy water or rosaries vs. chicken feet, herb
talismans, etc.) Many of the same practices of voodooist are seen in
non-voodoo African retentions in the Sea Islands and Florida. In his essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Religious Retentions in Florida</i>, Robert Hall shared this
account from an 1880 newspaper, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Floridian</i>:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
“A man in
Tallahassee assisted by an elderly woman, astounded onlookers by appearing to
vomit nails, moss, and other debris. His
friends believe strongly in the reality of it all, and insists that he had a
spell put on him by a woman to whom he was engaged to but whom he jilted and
who now protests that she intends to pay him off for his base desertion.” <span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title="">[i]</a> </span></span></span><br />
Clearly, the practices of making talismans, charms and
curses existed outside of theVoodoo religion of New Orleans, demonstrating
that these practices were original to African religiously, and not merely
magic. Practices of divination,
manipulation and herbalism are all elements of African religiosity (as well as
many other world religions) and not merely the superstitions of folklore.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another
main misconception about the religion of Voodoo is that its practitioners are
polytheistic and worship many Gods. This
is simply not true. Jessie Ruth Gaston
wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Case of Voodoo in New
Orleans</i>: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
“Vodu has a highly
organized hierarchy of deities, with vodum priests, priestesses, novices, and
other persons devoted to serving and protecting them. At the top is the Supreme Being (Creator or
God). Below the Creator, lesser deities
serve as intermediaries. Clans, families
and villages also have their own deities to protect them, justify their claims
to power, and to legitimize their rights of occupation. The deities have prescribed methods of worship,
certain ceremonial dances, dress codes, foods, and days set aside in their
honor.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clearly, the deities are no more than intercessors, or
intermediaries between humanity and the Supreme Being. Much like the saints of Roman Catholicism,
these intermediaries are assigned their own special days of the year, and have
certain attributes that make them relatable to certain towns, clans or
families. It is not unknown for Roman
Catholics to attend mass on their saint’s ascribed day, to name their children
after the saint of which the day it was born, or to marry or baptize on the
days of specific saints. This is merely
a way for people to feel more connected and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experience</i>
their religion, instead of it just being a written, lifeless practice. Where the catch may be, is the term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deity </i>being used for the Voodoo
supernatural forces. The term deity can
mean a god or goddess or it can mean a divine quality or nature. The word deity originates from Old French (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deite</i>), which means divine nature, not
God. Given the French nature of New
Orleans, it is easy to see how this word was assigned to an African concept
that had no English language equivalent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Almost
every organized religion has some element of either its past or present that it
either regrets or would disassociate from if it could. Examples of this are the extreme literalists
and the concept of Jihad for the Muslims, the crusades, the selling of
indulgences, the abuse of children by ordained clergy, and the money
scandals of the televangelist for the Christians, and the polygamist practices
of the extreme Mormons. Within the
religion of Voodoo, the opportunity to sell potions that had no power or
validity to unsuspecting buyers in order to merely make money became prevalent
and known to most as Hoodoo. Hoodoo does
not have established rites, rituals, priests, priestesses, or even a Supreme
Being of which they pay homage to. Therefore Hoodoo is not a religion, but
instead a group of magical practices. Gaston’s essay touches on this, but does not go
as far as to say that many aspects of Hoodoo diminished the credibility of
Voodoo in America. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sadly, some
associate the magical superstitions and con-artist techniques of Hoodoo with
African American religion in general.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The religiosity of the imported Africans was deeply important to them. While the oppression of slavery and the acculturation into the native white
religious traditions did change the expression of their religion, it would be a
travesty and a disservice to resulting African American religions and religious
practices to refer to them as “magical”, “superstitious” or “witchcraft.” In
contrast, the Voodoo of New Orleans and the beliefs held by the blacks of the
Sea Islands and Florida were true religious expressions deeply rooted in
African tradition. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">There is a balm in Gilead <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">To make the wounded whole <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">There is a balm in Gilead <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">To heal the sin sick soul.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">~early 19<sup>th</sup>
Century African American Spiritual <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">thought to have originated
in the Sea Islands<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Eh ye
ye Mamzelle Marie</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #434343; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Ya ye
ye li konin tou gris gris;</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #434343; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Li te
cuori lekal , aver vieux kokodril;</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #434343; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh
ouai ye Mamzelle Marie<br />
~VooDoo Chant of Marie Laveau<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Voodoo
Priestess, New Orleans, <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">~1874</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr, 2006.Pg.
232<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 115<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-14108742179945194622012-05-27T23:26:00.002-04:002012-05-28T22:17:32.428-04:00The Gullah of the Sea Islands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfgplf17Maje-VOLSxkJRLFoR43IQCWOY97qlkLV32dtT0ebrMHGThyphenhyphen1E3n8jC9TrHVhwKHcCfA1tbseL-yQCKa6oP47yGTem6lHo1t6j-DLRUSuPvIWFUW5pQu2O0QPnRki4ZKd6fHA/s1600/p181809-Gullah_Cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfgplf17Maje-VOLSxkJRLFoR43IQCWOY97qlkLV32dtT0ebrMHGThyphenhyphen1E3n8jC9TrHVhwKHcCfA1tbseL-yQCKa6oP47yGTem6lHo1t6j-DLRUSuPvIWFUW5pQu2O0QPnRki4ZKd6fHA/s400/p181809-Gullah_Cemetery.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Most religions of the world include
in their theology and apologetic literature an explanation of how the universe
(cosmos) came into being. Known as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">religious
cosmologies</i></b>, (as opposed to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cosmology,
</i></b>which refers to empirically supported scientific theories of how the
universe was created), these dogmas often can be traced to the earliest practices
of a religion. All of the universal religions (Christianity, Islam and
Buddhism), as well as all of the secondary world religions (Judaism, Hinduism,
Jainism and Taoism) include an aspect of religious cosmology in their dogmas. Religious
cosmologies usually involve the presence of a deity, and more specifically a
deity that was responsible for the creation of the universe. Similar to religious cosmology,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
ontology</i></b> is a metaphysical branch of philosophy that seeks to explain
the nature of “being” in terms of the reality of (being) and the illusion of
(being.) Entangled within ontological philosophies are also the concepts of the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">self,</i> the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">identity</i>. Religious
cosmology and ontology are of key importance in African religiosity, and given
their prominent position, they are two significant aspects of African religion
that endured the slave trade and thrived among Africans referred to as the “Gullah” residing the in the Sea Islands off
the coast of Southern South Carolina and Georgia. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In her essay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gullah Attitudes towards Life and Death</i>, Margaret Washington cites
the work of John Mbiti, who combined African religious cosmology and ontology
into five distinct categories: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God</b>,
as the ultimate of the Genesis and sustenance of all things; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">spirits</b>, made up of superhuman beings
and the spirits of those who died long ago;<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
humans</b>, including those who are alive and those who are born, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">animals and plants</b>, or the remainder of
biological life; and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">phenomena</b>,
objects without biological life.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> This blog post seeks to examine specific
examples of each of the each of these five categories from Margaret
Washington’s abovementioned essay, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Sacred World of the Gullahs </i>by Joseph E. Holloway, and the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust</i> directed and
produced by Julie Dash. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Many non-Africans believe that the
African religions outside of Islam and Christianity are polytheistic. This
is because specific regions of Africa had differing names for the Supreme
Being, or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God</b>. These names included <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Onyame</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nzambi</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ngewo</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daya</i>. Similar to Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, the Supreme God was considered omniscient and
omnipotent and served as the creator of all life forms. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a>
Unlike the universal religions whose God (Allah, Jehovah and God the Father)
was both feared and loved, the Supreme God of the Gullah and other Africans
living in the New World was not a being to be feared. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ngewo</i>
just was as he was, and no amount of worship or prayer would change that. He was responsible for the creation of all
living things in the universe, and existed both within these living things and
outside of them. Known as mysticism
within the realm of spirituality, this concept of the Supreme God within all
created a connectedness between humans and all living things. This is pointed out in Washington’s essay, as
she explained how humans really consisted of two entities: the outer and the
inner being. Known as the outer being,
the body was just a shell, which was created to eventually rot and decay. The
inner being was divided into two parts: one’s personal life, and more
significant to this discussion, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kivuumuni,</i>
which was the agent of life and breath. Neither
death, nor evil spirits nor hoodoo amulets or charms could destroy it. This <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kivuumuni</i>
was the very essence of life itself, and was the mystical notion of the
experience of the Supreme Being, or the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ngewo
</i>within. It was this connection that
allowed Africans of several geographic areas to acculturate with each other
before they acculturated with the native whites. They shared amongst them the
same creator, and breath of life. As time passed, and as the Methodist,
Episcopal and Baptist missionaries worked hard to convert the Sea Islands, this
notion of the Supreme Being melded with the Jesus of Christians rather than God
that Father, which would be more inline with the concept of a Supreme
Being. While the religion of voodoo and
it’s hoodoo practices thrived and melded with the Roman Catholic base in
amongst the Africans of New Orleans, the Gullah melded their religion and their
concept of the Supreme Being with the more Pentecostal Baptist, Methodist, and
later the Episcopalians. This sometimes
created conflict and disconnect amongst the older Gullah and the younger more
acculturated Gullah. This can be seen in
the portion of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust </i>when
the women of the family were gathered and lamenting over the “old ways” of Nana
Peazant. The outspoken daughter –in-law
Haagar objects that Nana “doesn’t even
pray to Jesus~, she still believes in the magic of her old tin can”. The daughters and granddaughters of Nana stay
silent on this, as they seem to understand that Nana’s God is the same God as
this Jesus, or at least is experienced in the same way, which at the end of the
day is what really is important. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Given that the Supreme Being does
not require worship or prayer, as He wills all and controls all of life’s
cycles, which included birth, coming of age, death, and existence in the
afterlife, more emphasis was placed on what the Africans and Gullah felt they
could control, which was the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">spirit </b>world. This spirit world consisted of both
supernatural spirits and the spirits of ancestors laid to rest. Evidence of this strong belief in the spirit
world can be noted in the religions of Africa, the melded religion of the
Gullah and the Voodoo and Hoodoo traditions of New Orleans and coastal
Louisiana. It is important to remember, however, that while the African
Gullah’s did recognize the supernatural spirits that affected aspects of life,
the Supreme Being remained the central pinnacle of being, and as Washington
stated, “lesser spirits were intermediaries, representing an assurance of human
perpetuity beyond the grave.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></a> Amulets, potions and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fetishes</i> (small carved animals pounded through with nails) abounded
in the slave quarters. Several rituals existed to “keep de ghost out
de House,” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></a> or
to purify the body for religious ceremonies. Of particular interest is the merged Christian
and African ritual of using water in religious ceremonies. Holloway wrote about this in his essay,
comparing the use of water in baptism amongst the missionaries to the water
spirit cults of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ibibio</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Calabar, Ijaw, Yoruba, and Grebo</i> of
Liberia. who all visited the river to immerse in the water in order to purify
themselves (rid themselves of any spirit possession.) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span></span></a> The spirit possession rituals of the Gullah
involved shouting, dancing, and entering trance-like states. This was picked-up
by the missionaries and became a popular theme amongst Southern Pentecostals,
where even today dancing and speaking in tongues can be a part of the worship
experience. Several of the characters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters of the Dust </i>make reference to
the spirits of ancestors, or their own future spirit afterlife. Specifically, we see Nana Peazant showing the
family the treasured hair of her mother, and presenting to them the hair,
wrapped in herbs and twined to a Bible, for the family to take with them to the
mainland. Nana tells the family this
hair is the presence of her mother in their life, (their “history”) and when
she (Nana) passes on, her spirit will be with that of her mothers in the amulet
she created. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The great care the Gullah took in
preparing the dying for death and the dead for the grave also exemplifies their
belief in the spirit world. Washington
wrote:<br />
“ In the Sea Islands they would keep all-night vigil, singing, praying,
and preaching around the bedside of the dying.
This was supposed to strengthen the person as they passed death’s
door. When the person died, they would
immediately begin shouting over the body.
The loud shrieks were made as the last breath was breathed, as it was
believed hat loud shrieking scared off the spirits of hell who were always
lurking around to get possession of another soul.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a><br />
After death, the rite of burial and maintenance of the gravesite was extremely
important to the Gullah. In the Sea Islands, when a person died, the
possessions of the dead were placed on top of their grave. Holloway quoted a Gullah who said: “tat dis
wuz de way dey bury dem in Africa…Dey use tuh put duh tings a pusson use las on
duh grabe. Dis wuz suppose tuh satisfy
duh spirit and keep ir frum follin yuh back tuh tuh house.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></a> We see the importance of the community
graveyard in Daughters of the Dust as several scenes include the
graveyard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The importance placed on the family
and the strong sense of kinship exhibited by the Gullah illustrates their
understanding and appreciation for a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">human
</b>life worth living in alliance with each other. Holloway wrote, “The
patrilocal extended family consisted of a patriarchal head, his wife or wives,
his unmarried children, his married sons, and their wives and children.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></a> Another common family unit was much more
matrifocal family, as the matriarchal traditions of Africa were reinforced by
the forced separation of men and women by the slave owners. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughters
of the Dust</i> clearly illustrates the strong bonds between extended family,
as the families are portrayed as living together, and celebrating the return of
a cousin (Cousin Mary) who had moved to the mainland. We also see exemplified in the Presenze
family, a household seemingly led by the grandmother of the family, that contained far more women than men. During
the scene when Eula reveals to the family her true feelings about the family
leaving the island, she expresses how Yellow Mary is a part of her, a part of
all of them, The women in the film also clearly dominate the men, and come
across as more educated and in charge. African American women were oftentimes more
acculturated then the men, as they were oftentimes assigned work inside of the
plantation homes, they gained greater fluency in the language and ways of the
whites, thereby giving them an edge over the men, who were usually assigned to
the fields or stables. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The essays of Holloway and
Washington do not present very much information about the importance of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">plants and animals</b> in African
religiosity. Holloway briefly mentions
palm kernel, coconut oil, camwoods and herbs in his description of the final
wash before burial,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></a>
and Washington makes no mention of it at all. However, much is made about the
use of plants and animals in the Voodoo religion and its accompanying Hoodoo
practices. Nana Peazant’s tin can and
her bundle of roots and herbs tied to the Bible show the connectedness between
humanity (the hair of her mother) and the natural earth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Phenomena</b> are the last of the cosmological and ontological
categories of African Religion. In this
context, Phenomena refers to non-living things or objects carrying powers to
prevail against evil, or even carrying the very presence of an ancestor, as in
Nana Peazant’s tin can. These objects often remain tucked away and private for
the Gullah slaves. However, upon the
death of the owner, the objects would appear en masse upon the gravesite of the
deceased. Washington wrote of bits of
colored glass, carved wooden figures and patchwork quilts all being placed on
the grave. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The Gullah cosmology and
ontological categories of the Supreme Being, the Spirits of evil and ancestors,
the respect and value of human life, the use of plants and animals and the
phenomena of special powers associated with non-living things reflect the
acculturation process and religious experience of the Gullah people. While each of these categories reflects their
roots in African religiosity, the Gullah were able to mix their African
traditions with those of the native whites.
Specifically, this can be seen in their acceptance of Jesus in place of
the Supreme Being, a choice that made their religion much less offensive to the
native Christians. As the acculturated,
many of their own religious practices, such as dancing, spirit possession and
trance like prayer states became a part of the Southern Pentecostal
experience. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The Gullah religious worldview was
rooted in African spirituality. Study of
these essays and the film revealed a people who were totally immersed in their
religion. In fact, life and religion
could not be separated. One could not
“be” without the other. To be detached
from the religion of ones family, as Washington writes, “is to be severed from
his roots, his foundation, his context of security, his kinships, and the
entire group of those who made him aware of his existence. To be without one of these elements in life
is to be without the whole picture…<b>African peoples do not know how to exist
without religion</b>.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[xi]</span></span></span></a> Understanding the cosmology and ontology of
the Gullah religion is a step towards understanding the Gullah as a people, a culture, and a vital part of the history of African Americans. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><i>I must add to this Blog a personal note: The Island of Edisto and Pawleys Island are probably my favorite places on the planet. My family vacations on the beach there in the summer. I have visited the rice plantations, and a few of the vacation homes and retreats that still have detatched slave quarters and have survived hurricane Hugo, which devastated the area in 1989. There is a quiet but powerfully strong presence about these islands that I have never been able to adequatley articulate. I can almost feel the presence of a mournful, soulful past. During our annual stay, every member of my family (including the children) seem to find a quiet moment here or there to stop, reflect and think. Maybe it is the heat (which can be downright oppressive), maybe it is the sleepy inlet, with its reeds and ripples, blue crabs, and magical sunsets, or maybe it is the warm, humid breeze that continuously blows. There is just something <b>magic</b> about these islands. It is different than nearby Charleston (which has it's own interesting haunts and history), and a world away from places like Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. If you have a chance, go and visit. </i></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kpFkOLcDo4RTck3U8zxVZy6libCaNvqOl0tO9KzlIHsndXiCnxyoElc2ezHaUF98CRbiVSmpIYWRZ4hPU0q_3s30yApemjeSG2lT3LS9EKUesS93t19XUG5ubJoz6OF8jBlMbLbwmpE/s1600/Lemon+House_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kpFkOLcDo4RTck3U8zxVZy6libCaNvqOl0tO9KzlIHsndXiCnxyoElc2ezHaUF98CRbiVSmpIYWRZ4hPU0q_3s30yApemjeSG2lT3LS9EKUesS93t19XUG5ubJoz6OF8jBlMbLbwmpE/s320/Lemon+House_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #010101; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;">This house was built on 10 acres of beach land by the laBruce family who were successful rice planters in this area of All Saints Parish. Two small dwellings on the property were slave cabins. The residence was purchased by Calhoun Lemon of Barnwell, SC in 1952 and still remains in this family. Additions have been made to the house through the years.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #010101; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #010101; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.gullahgourmet.com/">click this link to connect to a site dedicated to LowCountry Food. </a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mfADDHODGC6mr0qFTC0VZ211g3rl10V1LyZPYQFHeU_7CVEZUK8jR-Ulh-16Xvj2uLhw0farINZVCqPo-nvid3E2E2Tx383npKbKMCCqc93_knjLwaS3gMdYAxmDSpNi4Gay837zRRQ/s1600/shrimp_grits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mfADDHODGC6mr0qFTC0VZ211g3rl10V1LyZPYQFHeU_7CVEZUK8jR-Ulh-16Xvj2uLhw0farINZVCqPo-nvid3E2E2Tx383npKbKMCCqc93_knjLwaS3gMdYAxmDSpNi4Gay837zRRQ/s640/shrimp_grits.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
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<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr, 2006.Pg.
156<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg.166<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 156<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></a> Pg.
207<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 207<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 198<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 200<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 189<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 197<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span></span></a> Pg.
175<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[xi]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 155<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-35761815438210371852012-05-21T14:03:00.001-04:002012-05-21T15:55:31.144-04:00Ya ntata ya ntata. (Yackety-yak).<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJUO46P2vHsFM6D9miywSjr5SXDkgNGfJj52nw7rYeMc6fTX7QUpFIB3cs2KEe3yNUKV30bYP3MxodjIobCgyPSRfiwXHVby18WxdgFFihToEFLbmTXZ6PsU28yUN0q8sRstliOqRFNY/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJUO46P2vHsFM6D9miywSjr5SXDkgNGfJj52nw7rYeMc6fTX7QUpFIB3cs2KEe3yNUKV30bYP3MxodjIobCgyPSRfiwXHVby18WxdgFFihToEFLbmTXZ6PsU28yUN0q8sRstliOqRFNY/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many names used in American English and Ebonics were
borrowed from African languages during the acculturation of African slaves in
the New World. This is seen clearly in
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proper Names</b> of slaves in
Colonial America, in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Africanisms</b>
found in black naming practices, and in African American <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">nicknames</b>. These naming
practices illustrate the transition the Africans were experiencing, and to what
effect the Africans had on the Standard English spoken in the United States at
that time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many of the
Africans arriving in the New World had obvious contact with Europeans on the
western coast of Africa. For example; Holloway stated “Africans arriving in South Carolina from the
costal communities of Africa generally spoke some pidgin or Creole English
prior to coming to America” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> This point was also clearly made in the PBS
documentary <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Story of Black English. </i> Like the immigrants of today, acculturation
and the learning of English among younger Africans was much faster than that of
their seniors, who learned English with greater difficulty. Over time, and with each generation, less and
less of the African culture and language was retained. However, Africans in Colonial America, and especially
South Carolina continued to give their children African names well into the
nineteenth century. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the
first few decades of life in the new World, Africans maintained their
traditional <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">proper naming practices</b>
of the days of the week, months, seasons and weather. This included the popular names of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cudjoe</i> (Monday), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beneba </i>(Tuesday), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cuffee</i>
(Friday), and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quasheba</i> (Sunday). After the first and second generations,
Africans began to substitute African proper names for the English translation,
such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">August, January,</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thursday</i>. The text gives a wonderful
account of why this practice happened from the very voice of an ex-slave,
Thursday Jones: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dey name me dat way jis
cus uh happen tuh be bawn on Thursday, I guess.
Sech things seem tub be in our fambly.
I had ad uncle who name tis Monday Collins. It seem tuh come duh fus ting tuh folks’ mine tuh name duh babis fuh duh dey is baw on.</i> “ <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
This
gradual change of using the African language illustrates the African American's slow acculturation
into American linguistic practices, while still maintaining a connection with
their past. However, the African
tradition of naming children after the day of the week or month in which they
were born spread into the naming practices of whites in the New World, and
names such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">April,</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">August</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">May </i>are still commonly used today.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many
African American names during the early Colonial period contained what we call <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africanisms</i></b>,
or characteristics of African culture that can be traced throughout the African
diaspora. Examples of these Africanisms
included changing the name of a person in correlation with the stage of their
life, changing a name to indicate the personality of the bearer, or changing
ones name to indicate some sort of striking occurrence in one’s life. The text cites a wonderful example of this,
stating that the historically well know Sojourner Truth, who was a crusader for
black emancipation and feminine equality, was known as <i>Isabella</i> until the age
of twenty, when she was freed by her owner. She had a vision that revealed to
her what her new name was to be, and that her mission would be to free her
people. The text lists THIRTEEN pages of
words commonly used in contemporary American English that contain
Africanisms. Three words that were
particularly interesting to me were “<i>Honkie</i>”, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hulla-ballo</i>”, and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay</i>.” I am familiar with the Ebonics word <i>honkie</i>,
and it’s reference to whites coming into black communities and honking their
car horns. I was surprised to learn that
the word really originates from the African Wolof word <i>Hong</i>, which means pink
in color, and is used to describe white people in African languages! From the
Bantu African “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halua balualua</i>”
(meaning noise or racket), the word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hulla-ballo</i>”
is a term I use frequently! My children
are used to me saying, “<i>What’s all the hulla-ballo about</i>?” Lastly, I do not
know of a single American who does not use the term “<i>okay</i>” in their everyday
language. Based on the African Mandingo
“o-ke”, it literally means “yes indeed” in West African. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Story of Black English</i> documentary<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>also points out the prevalence of the
term o<i>kay</i> amongst the slaves arriving in Charleston<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i> Clearly, Colonial
Americans assimilated many aspects of the African linguistic style. African linguistic patterns continue to
impact mainstream speaking patterns today as hip-hop words such as <i>swag</i>, <i>swagger</i>, <i>fat</i>, <i>beast</i>, <i>my bad</i>, and <i>dope</i> have all become a part of American English .
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Another important African practice
that still survives in America today is the use of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">nicknames</b>. The text claims
that almost every black person is known of by more than one name. This was especially prevalent in the Gullah
in the Sea Islands of South Carolina.
Many of these Gullah slaves had American English names given to them at
birth, and over time a nickname of African language nature was assigned. Holloway cited many examples of these
nicknames, including: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pie Ya, Puddin’-tame,
Frog, Tennie-C, Monkey, Mush, Cooter, john de Baptist, Fat-Man, Preacher, Jack
Rabbit, Sixty, PopCorn, Old Gold, Dootes, Angel-Eye, Bad Luck, Sky-up the
Greek, Cracker Jabbo, Cat-Fish, Bear, Tip, Odessa, Pig Lasses, Rattler, Pearly,
Luck, Buffalo, Old Blue, Red Fox, Coon, and Jewsharp</i>.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I do
not know if Colonial Americans used nicknames on a regular basis or if they adopted the practice after the acculturation of the Africans.
Regardless, the practice of using nicknames among Africans must have, at the
very least, strengthened the practice amongst white Americans. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Understanding the linguistic
patterns of the African slaves that arrived to the East Coast of America helps
us gain a clearer insight into the patterns of speech in both Ebonics and
American English. This begins with an
understanding of African <b>naming practices</b>, a<b>fricanisms </b>found in Standard
English today, and the practice of using<b> nicknames</b> amongst African Americans. Clearly, American English as we know it today
would not be the same had it not been for the influence of the Africans
arriving to America. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr, 2006. Pg.84<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a>
Pg. 84<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></a>
pg 91<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-20778746342718925542012-05-21T00:24:00.002-04:002012-05-21T16:09:39.935-04:00Ebonics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCn4JwQS-4hRGmV9Um35COQhjFvcYXhw8lLwKxox3TSs2sLNHxP3_VBSddnuL8FwKC6NpCDOaG6spfmEUEEQyLOby3BfDjDuI-n9en_BecWU-5i-VbSKE7ooZofiMqKpM1q4Fbd6UmqZ0/s1600/ebonics1-9709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCn4JwQS-4hRGmV9Um35COQhjFvcYXhw8lLwKxox3TSs2sLNHxP3_VBSddnuL8FwKC6NpCDOaG6spfmEUEEQyLOby3BfDjDuI-n9en_BecWU-5i-VbSKE7ooZofiMqKpM1q4Fbd6UmqZ0/s400/ebonics1-9709.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">AA
English<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://youtu.be/aQrtB7cZDrA" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://youtu.be/aQrtB7cZDrA</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="color: #262626;"> In this film clip, Professor Mary Zeigler of Georgia University
discussed the influence African American's have had on the
development of American English. The three
black female students featured in the clip not only defended, but also embraced
a different “dialect” for blacks and whites in America. The students appeared
to be very well educated and well versed on the history and roots of Ebonics. Professor
Zeigler expressed her relief and joy at the academic communities acceptance of
Ebonics, and commented that her students prefer to speak to one another in the
language or “variety” of language that they identify with. Three things stood
out to me in this clip: a well articulated point about the perceived dichotomy
of Ebonics and American English (and the need for that to change); a weak and
unsupported claim that the reason for the preponderance of Ebonics amongst
African Americans is a lack of available teachers and examples of American
English; and the great pride the students took in “owning” their language and their heritage while accepting these beautiful things as a part of their identity. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There were some very thought-provoking
arguments in this clip. More
specifically, the comment by the student in the orange blouse: “<i>It’s not about
this is bad and this is good... It’s not
bad and good, its about teaching our kids about what will make them more
successful in life but not sacrificing what they already know</i>.” This student expressed need for change in
the way Americans place Ebonics and American English as polar opposites. This dichotomy needs to be recognized as
unsupportive and destructive, and then an active effort needs to take place to
facilitate a positive change.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the very beginning of the film,
one of the students made clear that the reason for the differences in black and
white English, is both the lack of time Africans have had access to education
in this country (the 1960’s) and the few numbers of examples young blacks have
had to model English instead of Ebonics. I disagree with this student, and find
her argument to be very unsupported. If
we are to agree that equal education was not made available to blacks in this
country until 1970, we can safely assume that a minimum of 3 generations of
African Americans should, in the American public school systems, have been
taught to read and write American English by now. Most immigrants who come to
the Unites States have (first generation) children who are fluent in the
language of the new country and speak the native language in appropriate
cultural and familial settings. It is
unclear to me why African Americans do not approach assimilation of American
English in this same manner. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, the film clip exuded the
pride and joy the students feel about their cultural heritage and their unique
Ebonics dialect. This reminded me very
much of Asante’s description of language as one of the African cultural
“experiences” that remain with African
Americans in place of African cultural artifacts. These women are as far away from an 18<sup>th</sup>
century Slave Ship as can be, yet they still find a sense of sisterhood, pride
and identity in their African linguistic similarities. What a beautiful thing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Black English Panel<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/CulturePa" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/CulturePa</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This film is a recording of a panel discussion about the
politics of language and culture and was held at the 11<sup>th</sup> annual
Harlem Book Fair in New York City in 2009.
Titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"We Be, You Are, They
Is: Black English, Language, and Culture</i>", the panelists in the film discussed
if a nonstandard language such as "Black English" should be deemed
inferior, and the problems of transferring between languages. The discussion
highlighted three main features of language: the concept that language provides
a sense of identity and defines ones sense of placement within society and time;
the difference between the style of language we use in personal and intimate
relationships vs. the language used in more formal academic or workplace
environments; and the great variety of English spoken across this country and
this world, of which Ebonics is but one. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The major
points of this panel presentation were very consistent with the writings and
theories of Asante, in that the panelists agreed in the importance of the
connection that Ebonics provides to blacks, both with their African past, and
with each other. Speakers of African
English, according to the panelists, are no different than any other American
who speaks English as a second language.
The strongest argument th</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">at was made by the panel was the need for black children to
learn <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when</i> to use Ebonics or what
they referred to as “rap culture English” and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when </i>to use Standard English. Exemplified in the discussion were the
differences between home language and culture, and school language and culture,
as well as the media and the lack of respect for Africa, and African American
people in this country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This film
presented many theories and opinions but few solutions. The topics discussed were merely the outer
frosting on a multi level cake of issues within politics, education, urban
areas, vast socioeconomic differences, linguistics, cultural awareness and
biases. Sadly, no real proposals for
solutions were given. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #343434;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ink
Spot: Ebonics in the age of Obama<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Bt7O-nHSAp4" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://youtu.be/Bt7O-nHSAp4</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In this montage of clips from “The
Ink Spot”, Dr. Garrard Mcclendon moderated a conversation between the Ink Spot
panel as they reviewed the book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beyond
Ebonics</i> and debated whether the use of Ebonics is “dumbing down the English
Language”, or a dialect of the English Language. Also addressed were issues the panel had with
the concept of “universal black culture.”
Two of the panelist felt that while people who speak Ebonics are most
certainly not “dumb”, Ebonics itself is most definitely a “dumbing down” of
Standard English. Once again, as in the
prior films, the argument was made that real change for black children lies in
the use of standardized English at home, and by the teachers at schools. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The female member of the panel was
in definite disagreement with the other panelists. It was clear that she did not accept Ebonics
as a cultural continuity amongst African Americans, but rather as a result of a
poor education. While it may be easy to
dismiss her as unaware of the linguistic research that has been done, I feel
she has a valid point for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i></b> of the African American
population. Many African American
children are receiving a substandard education, especially here in metro
Detroit. While these children may hear
only Ebonics at home, there are black speakers of standardized English on all
of the local news channels, on television shows, and even serving as our
President. If these black children have been exposed to standardized English
via the media, then why are they not reading and writing standardized English?
The answer to that lies in the very argument that the female member of the
panel was making: they have received a poor education. I was nauseated when I heard the man in the
clip quote a teacher in a school who said “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">come
here baby give me your feets so I can tie your shoes.</i>” Given this model of English from a person of
supposed authority, how and when would any child learn to speak standardized
English? It is so important to recognize that while a substandard education may
be the reason some African Americans speak Ebonics; it is definitely<b> not</b> the
case for others, who <b>choose</b> Ebonics as a clear cultural identity marker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Black
English<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://youtu.be/X_KKLkmIrDk" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://youtu.be/X_KKLkmIrDk</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #262626;">Linguistic
Discrimination in School: African American English </span></i><span style="color: #262626;">is a short clip of a film that details the story of
brothers who were tested and placed in Special Ed Courses on the basis of their
use of Ebonics in the Ann Arbor school district. The brothers were three of twenty-four black
children in a sea of wealthy white students that comprised the student body.
A social worker involved with the family helped them to pursue a landmark
court case on the basis that the boys were receiving a substandard education
because the teachers disregarded of them due to their use of Ebonics. This was the first time that any school
district in the United States recognized that the use of Black English, or Ebonics, was a tremendous roadblock in
the classroom. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Language
Discrimination:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://youtu.be/WWIbIA9BltQ" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://youtu.be/WWIbIA9BltQ</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This clip from Fox 2 News features a teacher who is working very
hard to teach young African Americans the difference between “Ask and Ax” and
other English words that Ebonics pronunciation has slaughtered. The news clip does present the other side of
the story; highlighting how bad grammar is consistent across all aspect of
American English. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This teacher is to be
applauded. He is, by title, a
teacher afterall. It is his job to present the
material in a way in which it can be processed by his students, and then re-present
said material to those who might struggle with it. In this case, he is presenting key problems
African American students who speak Ebonics in the home and are trying to learn
how to “switch hit”, or speak standardized English, may be experiencing in the
school setting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This type of language discrimination
occurs daily in this country. Whites,
and even some blacks hear a man or woman speaking Ebonics, and almost
immediately, assumptions are drawn as to that person’s level of education,
family life, IQ, professionalism, cultural, sexual, musical and style
preferences, and even ability to reason and problem solve. Like any stereotype, assumptions of any of
these qualities based solely on language acquisition and verb tense usage is a
very limited, shortsighted way of thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">African-American English, from Voices
of NC<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-weight: 300;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Zqohw8nR6qE" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #128fa8; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://youtu.be/Zqohw8nR6qE</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This small clip from the 2008
documentary <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voices of North Carolina </i>features
examples of a few common terms from Ebonics, such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right on, peace, what up man, I’m chillin,</i> etc. that have wporked there way into mainstream standardized English. The film argues that every generation has to identify itself and create a new
language. According to this film
excerpt, the new language addition to the Ebonics and Standard American English of this generation is
“Hip-Hop.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This clip briefly explores the idea
that Hip Hop is a new language of it’s own , and emphasises that culturally identifiable
languages are important identifiers amongst all peopls, not only African Americans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My Position on Ebonics<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> These six films, in combination with chapters
one, two, three and four of our classroom text have shifted my previously held
position of the use of Ebonics in this country. Prior to this course, I
was unaware that many aspects of Ebonics as a linguistic style (and
specifically the verb tense forms) was able to be traced back to the 1700's and
the West African coastline. It is clear to me now that Ebonics has many
elements that are culturally significant to African Americans. Like any
other language, Ebonics has evolved with time. It has gained some figures
of speech, and lost others. The same can be said for Standard American English.
(When is the last time you have heard a speaker of American English say "<i>why that
is just dandy</i>"?) Shifts in intonation, inflection and pronunciation
occur with <b>all</b> languages. Because the evolution of the genre of hip-hop music
has affected Ebonics spoken in this country, many feel the language has sunk to
an unsalvageable language and should be discarded. I argue instead that these
changes do not lessen or weaken the language, but instead help to solidify the
cultural and identity- stamping importance of the language. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> That being
said, I do feel there is a time and a place for everything. Learning <i>when</i>
to use Ebonics is just as important as understanding the roots from whence Ebonics
came. I would never address my boss with a "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hi hon, what’s up</i>" although I may address my friends outside
of the office in this manner on a daily basis. I have learned situational
appropriateness for my differences in language, and I strongly believe that
African Americans would be discriminated upon less and treated with more respect and
authority if they were to learn to do the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span></div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-88617807893221124962012-05-20T02:59:00.001-04:002012-05-21T16:10:40.129-04:00African Elements in African American English<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXMKynpYWdBKunBcu2nKlfqNu0_hwOAOa_SXtm7fSrVK2Jiabh8u1HdYI2PBFew9OLPGG-2JOGVJ9Qz8pNYp_MT0xO8rqMK99bJ-XnWRF45rb4rEYPQFrblOVo6dusWDlylUqhp3XgNI/s1600/101410-linguistics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXMKynpYWdBKunBcu2nKlfqNu0_hwOAOa_SXtm7fSrVK2Jiabh8u1HdYI2PBFew9OLPGG-2JOGVJ9Qz8pNYp_MT0xO8rqMK99bJ-XnWRF45rb4rEYPQFrblOVo6dusWDlylUqhp3XgNI/s400/101410-linguistics.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">In his essay
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Elements in African American
English</i>, Molefi Kete Asante argued that because African American slaves
could not logistically retain any of their cultural artifacts from their
homeland, they instead retained basic components of the African <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experience</i>. Specifically, this “experience” included a
general retention of African linguistic behavior, including combinations of “classes
of sounds, units of meaning, and syntax behaviors<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a>.”
The linguistic similarities Asante detailed did not include an array of actual African
lexicon, but rather grammatical style and verb conjugation patterns. Asante prefaced
his argument with a scathing criticism of the early scholars of African
American culture. There are both strengths and weaknesses in the argument
Asante posed in favor of the retention of African linguistic behaviors and the
argument he posed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">against</i> the early
scholars of African American culture. Overall, I found Asante’s argument
against the early scholars of African American culture to be very weak, and the
arguments he posed in favor of African Americans retaining portions of African
linguistic behaviors to be interesting and worthy of consideration and
continued study. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">The primary
weakness of Asante’s argument against earlier scholars of African American
culture is that he discredited pioneers in the field, such as Herskovits,
Turner, Jahn and Gonzales and then subsequently used some of their research and
theories as an authoritative voice to support his argument against other
scholars. Asante wrote: “They theorized
on the basis of field research in African cultures, diasporas and continental,
challenged many interpretations about the African connection…they provided in
effect, novel interpretations of old substances.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></a>
These “old substances” Asante was referring to were previously mentioned in his
essay as the prevailing ideas among early American scholars of African culture,
including thoughts that the language used by African Americans was “a
corruption of English”, “the babbling of children”, and “unworthy of investigation <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></a>.” If we are to agree with Asante that
Herskovits, Turner et al merely provided a new twist on the same old story,
then we must discredit their scholarship entirely. In doing so, it is then very difficult for
the reader to move on to the next few paragraphs, where Asante, in his example
using the misinterpretations of the Gullah language by Ambrose Gonzales, uses
one of the very scholars he has discredited (Turner) as a voice of
authority. Asante wrote: “The point made
by Turner is that white American linguists refused to consider the possibility
that blacks used African words in their vocabularies.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></a>”
Here, Asante is agreeing with the very same scholarly opinion that he has just
spent an entire page arguing against. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">While some may not consider it a weakness, Asante suggested, but
did not come out and say, that the early scholars of African culture and
African retention in the diaspora were inadequate and that while their efforts
were “gallant”, they were lacking because the linguists themselves were
white. Asante wrote: “Earlier, Ambrose
Gonzales, like many other <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">white </i>American
linguists…<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span></span></a>”,
and “the point made by Turner is that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">white</i>
American linguists…<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></a>”,
and “in fact, the evidence demonstrates that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whites</i> unfamiliar with either African languages…<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></a>” All of these examples of why the early
scholars where to be discredited included this descriptive notation of their
race. This weakened Asante’s argument, as Herskovits’s extensive studies in Africa and his
concluding theories about African cultural continuity should not be undermined because
of his biological race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">While Asante did allow that the conclusions of Herskovits, Garrett
and the like were “interesting, provocative, and a valuable addition to our knowledge,”
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></a>
he concluded that they “cast too narrow a mold that often depended on
continuity of specific words from several ethnic regions of Africa…. and do not
make an argument for a more general retention of African linguistic behavior
applicable to most black Americans.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></a> It appears that Asante is discrediting these
pioneers of African Studies merely because of the very specifically traceable
lexicon approach of their work. One must
remember, Herskovits was a cultural anthropologist, not a linguist. Asante’s criticism would be similar to
comparing specific empirical evidence and concrete examples (Herskovits and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">specific lexicon</b>), to that of more
inferential and broad applications (Asante and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">linguistic behaviors</span></b>.) Both approaches are valid and applicable to different
situations. However, using one
methodology to discredit another is unwarranted, especially given the small
amount of research in the field of African American linguistics in comparison
to other fields of study. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Asante does, however make very plausible and creditable arguments
for the transference of African linguistics to the linguistic behaviors of
African Americans. The primary strength of his argument exists in the flow he
created documenting the West African languages of Niger-Congo, to
Pidginization, to Creolization, to Englishizatioin, (refered to as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ebonics</b>.) This point exemplifies how Ebonics contains
structural remnants of certain African languages while maintaining an
overwhelmingly English vocabulary.
Specifically, the use of <i>aspect</i> rather that <i>tense</i> in many verb
conjugations and constructions is apparent. Of
particular interest is the Niger-Congo tense-aspect of Present (he go),
Near past (he gone), Remote Past (he been gone), Future (he going to go),
Aspect of progress (he going), Aspect of completion (he done gone) and Past
aspect of repetition (he been going.)
This pattern of West African verb conjugation is obvious in American
Ebonics. The relationship between the
verbs within a given construction is also of great importance and a major
difference between American Ebonics and English. Asante explains: “In some
sentences Ebonics speakers use several verbs, whereas Standard English has
available a single verb to express the completed action. “ <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span></span></a> Examples of this include “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turn loose and drap down from dar</i>” (Come
down from there), “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I hear tell you went home</i>” (I hear that you went home), “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Go home and see about those children</i>”
(go home and attend to those children) and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he
picked up and went to town”</i> (he went to town.) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[xi]</span></span></span></a> Asante pointed out that giving
every action a verb and using verb tenses that are grammatically incorrect in
Standard English is a common practice by African Americans. I was unaware that these tense-agreement usage
patterns are an important part of West African languages, as seen in examples
like “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He clumb de tree to shake de
simmons down whilst I be pickin em up</i>” (He climbd the tree to pick the persimmons) and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fore I knowed it I done fell slap to sleep</i>” (before I knew it, I fell asleep!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Asante continued by saying that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">done”</i> is a verbal aspect of completed
action, without reference to time, as opposed to the perfective (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have/had/has</i>), which is marked for time
(in Standard English).” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[xii]</span></span></span></a> This makes the sentence “I done ate” in
Ebonics “<i>I</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> completed the action of eating</i>”
in Standard English, where the verb “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">done</i>”
specifies nothing in reference to time.
Asante points out that the American English speaker assumes the speaker
of Ebonics is referring to something completed within a reference to time, when
in fact, this is incorrect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">While I find Asante’s theory that African American English
(Ebonics) was a direct “descendant” of the language of the West African slaves
to be convincing and academically sound, it is not lost on me that one of the
very arguments he uses to discredit earlier scholars on the subject (that they
were looking for too specific lexicon and word roots) is the very same proving
method Asante used as he discussed verb conjugations and tense forms! In this
case, he too was looking for an exact, specific link. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Overall, much can be learned by the scholarship of pioneers such
as Herskovits and Turner, and the more current linguistic approach of
Asante. As Ebonics remains one of the
most obvious points of differentiation between Americans, an understanding of
the roots and formation of the language is crucial for both blacks and whites
in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr, 2006. Pg. 68.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg 66<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg 65<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> pg. 66<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg 66<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg. 66<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg. 66-67<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg. 68</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg, 68<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg. 75<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;"> Pg. 76<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt;">[xii]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">Pg 78</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-32940032477713947432012-05-14T11:55:00.001-04:002012-05-14T11:58:35.246-04:00Black-Eyed Peas and Me.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgds7302CMnwMj867UzrWa7f_bQ_mS4YXmA8nSRpuggT9os5MGudUq3_5I0_So4wuD5P2rsUQsMhTi9roPuW81-cedZlLMs1BX1k7IND1XF1tlwttyCRajQubceS5WclBP6KNJ5QfdDLzE/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgds7302CMnwMj867UzrWa7f_bQ_mS4YXmA8nSRpuggT9os5MGudUq3_5I0_So4wuD5P2rsUQsMhTi9roPuW81-cedZlLMs1BX1k7IND1XF1tlwttyCRajQubceS5WclBP6KNJ5QfdDLzE/s320/images.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father (may he rest in peace) was a good man. Raised in the deep woods near the Tennessee-North
Carolina border in the 1930’s, poverty was a way of life. Their home had a dirt floor, quilts served as
both bedding, a table covering, curtains and art, a huge crock of sauerkraut
steeped in the corner, a still dripped silently and hidden in the back forty,
and yes, he often went to school barefoot.
I realize that these descriptions of my father and his life in rural
Tennessee are all typical stereotypes of Appalachian culture, but in the case
of my father, who migrated to Detroit in the 1950’s to work in the new and
well-paying Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, this was a way of life. As a white man, who had never traveled, was
marginally educated, and who was raised to believe that blacks were inferior,
my father struggled to assimilate into the urban and ever- increasing tense
climate of Detroit during the Civil Rights movement. He was a stranger in a
strange land, and I’m quite certain if you had asked him what parts of his
identity and culture he shared with his black co-worker on the assembly line,
he would have scoffed and said “none.”
To him, terms like cultural interaction, integration and assimilation
were a complete unknown. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course,
my father was wrong. A simple look at
his weekly diet of collard greens, yams, corn bread, hominy, black-eyed peas
with ham hock, and cookies sweetened with black sorghum and speckled with ground
goobers would show a wonderfully rich diet of foods brought to the United
States from West Africa at the very beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade
of the 1600’s. While the deep
Appalachians were a conglomerate of Highland Scottish and Cherokee cultures,
they were also an area where the culture of the South Carolina lowland African
American culture met the Northern Georgia plantation African American
culture. It was (and remains today) a
sort of “Southeast meets Deep South” converging point. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But African
American culture is much more than black-eyed peas and yams. Was it possible
for enslaved Africans to carry their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">culture</i>
with them into the New World? The answer to this is a definitive and resounding
yes. Despite the extreme and traumatic
conditions of the voyage and new life of slavery, Africans “arrived in the New
World capable of using Old World knowledge to create New World realities”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a>
This knowledge included everything from dairy farming, animal husbandry, folk
medicine, dance, folklore, agriculture, and of course the abovementioned
cuisine. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
interaction, integration and assimilation of African culture into the New World
was based on both the geographic region in which the enslaved Africans arrived
<i>from</i> and the geographic region they were sent <i>to</i>. One cannot think of Africa as an entire
continent of like-minded culturally homogeneous peoples. Rather, Africa was and is rich with cultural “zones”
as Herskovits broadly classified them, including but not limited to the Guinea
Coast, the Gold Coast (Ghana), Dahomey, The Bight of Benin (the Niger Delta),
and present day Gambia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Each geographic area held peoples varied in
tradition, culture and in some cases physical attributes such as shade of skin
pigmentation, height and facial features.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slave
traders transported the Africans to ports in South Carolina, Virginia and
Louisiana based on demands by the slave purchasers. These demands were based on
needs and the slave owners (albeit) limited understanding of physical attributes
that would best serve their needs. This explains why African American cultural
identity varied greatly between the Africans of Charleston, who where mainly from
the Angola region and skilled in net weaving and rice farming, both skills
that served the lowland, marshy humid climate very well, and the Africans of
the Georgia Plantations and the rest of the deep south, who were mainly from
Central Africa and of a large, strong and sturdy physical constitution that was
well suited for labor intensive peanut and cotton farming. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The process
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i> one’s culture interacts,
integrates and assimilates in its New World diaspora is an interesting and
complicated manner. I believe the
process for the enslaved Africans was greatly influenced and affected by the living
conditions and obvious suppression that was endured. What would an African American cultural
identity be today if slavery in the South had not existed? My guess is it would
be very different. Yet what I <i>do</i> know is
the culture that remains is rich and varied.
I am thankful for the African contributions that became a part of my
father’s life in rural Appalachia, and through him, are now a part of me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Holloway, Joseph E. <i>Africanisms
In American Culture</i>. 2nd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Pr, 2006. Print.
Pg. 39</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-72759292518133998602012-05-14T00:52:00.000-04:002012-05-14T00:58:00.317-04:00At the Heart of Blackness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_5p4pnscSaeulpjgbpbW0xrsDo8gy04v_CKQYEQcQNIemBpfGvBdnQTeKsrf_tD3SNFLiZu4pwbhyXTe9MrOhgTbDungBw-MaxzTGCrsQWFsXvebJWwqCiuQXcSHwQs_zaaQVE55s30/s1600/herskovits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_5p4pnscSaeulpjgbpbW0xrsDo8gy04v_CKQYEQcQNIemBpfGvBdnQTeKsrf_tD3SNFLiZu4pwbhyXTe9MrOhgTbDungBw-MaxzTGCrsQWFsXvebJWwqCiuQXcSHwQs_zaaQVE55s30/s1600/herskovits.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the winner of the 2009 John O’Connor Film Award, and the
Hollywood Black Film Festival’s Best Documentary, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Herskovits, At the Heart of Blackness</i>” is a fascinating film that
recalls the life and work of Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963) while raising important
questions about <span style="color: black;">race</span>, “objective”
scholarship, and politics.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A pioneer
in the field of African Studies, Herskovits was a Jewish American
anthropologist who traveled extensively throughout Africa, documenting the
everyday activities of Africans, such as dance, body movement, family
structures and the roles of both men and women in African societies. In analyzing his mountains of film and field
notes upon return to the States, Herskovits concluded that cultural ties to
Africa existed in the African diaspora across the New World, including the
United States, the Caribbean, and the Creole of Central and South America. This theory, known as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>cultural retention</i></b>, was not a new one. It was commonly accepted at
that time that most, if not all of the American Negros had lost their cultural
connections to their African roots during the agonizing period of middle
passage during the height of American slavery.
Herskovits did not agree.
Margaret Wade Lewis documented some of the connections Herskovits made
between Africa and Harlem in his field notes in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Impact of the Turner~Herskovits Connection on Anthropology And
Linguistics.</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a Jew,
Herskovits was very familiar with the excluding nature of race and the struggle
to incorporate race into identity in America.
The film suggests it was this understanding of exclusion and the need to
understand and “own” his identity that guided Herskovits’ interest towards
anthropology. Herskovits struggled with his Jewish identity throughout his
career, and wrote: “drawing attention to your identity is a way of undermining
your authority because authority does not have an identity. Authority speaks with the voice of the
universe.” Was Herskovits to be a Jew, a Jewish American
or just an American? Did these labels affect his identity? The same can be said
for the American Negro. Negro? Black?
African American or just American? Did it make a difference? That, according to
Herskovits, depended on what those labels meant to the Western World, and
ultimately the Black Americans who were struggling to live there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
At the turn of the century,
anthropologists were entrenched in the concept of race, and were actively
seeking physical evidence rather than cultural evidence to empirically prove
the superiority of one race over another.
Known as scientific racism, this methodology peaked at the height of the
Nazi regime during World War II. Working
quietly back in the U.S., Herskovits concluded that differences in races by no
means equated to inferiority between races.
Herskovits advocated cultural anthropology over physical anthropology,
and felt that the world could not be adequately interpreted through “western
eyes.” Known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>cultural relativism</b></i>, this heuristic of understanding a culture
“from the inside” was clearly promoted by Herskovits, and was the beginnings of
what is known today as <b><i>critical cultural theory</i></b>. Can a scholar objectively study
another race? Can a member of race objectively study it’s own race? The film
ends with the question “Who has access to understanding and explaining a people
and to what use?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of much interest to my own personal
understanding of current race relations within the United States was the debate
between Herskovits and E. Franklin Frazier that the film and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africanisms in American Culture</i>
detailed. A sociologist, Frazier
aggressively disagreed with Herskovits about the concept of cultural
retention. Frazier feared that pointing
out differences between black and white Americans would only perpetuate
segregation and undermine social change.
Of great interest to me is the discussion between the two about the
failure of the matriarchal household as it translated to the western culture,
crime, and the poor living conditions of black America. Are these examples of cultural retention? If
so, how could cultural retention be of any benefit to black Americans? I hope
to explore this in greater depth as this course continues. <o:p></o:p><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a class="yt-uix-redirect-link" dir="ltr" href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/herskovits" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #1c62b9; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/herskovits">http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/herskovits</a></span></div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-37796848168616316192012-05-07T23:21:00.000-04:002012-05-08T00:10:12.740-04:00A new topic of discussion for May and June<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mommy Back at College is taking a course entitled "African American Culture" this spring at WSU. The course requires that I blog about the readings, videos and required texts. My classmates will be blogging as well, and all enrolled in this on-line course are required to comment on each other's blogs. If you are a regular follower of Mommy Back at College, I ask you to please be kind and respectful to any of my classmates who comment on my blog. I am looking forward to this area of diaspora studies, and hope to gain a better understanding of the African American Culture. </div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-68650540257350845212012-04-21T16:04:00.001-04:002012-05-07T23:57:55.255-04:00mommy back at college!: The Influence of Jewish Mysticism on the Early Chr...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-73681649617573178912012-04-21T15:48:00.002-04:002012-04-21T15:59:57.343-04:00The Influence of Jewish Mysticism on the Early Christian Church<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Influence of Jewish Mysticism on the
Early Christian Church<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
Amy E. Graham</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Wayne State University</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prepared for Dr. Hans Hummer<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">History 5385: The History of Christianity up until the Reformation<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">March 26, 2012<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span>ystics know and experience
God in a very different way than the ordinary believer. Whereas the ordinary believer knows God in an
objective, concrete manner as embodied in nature or via sacred scriptures, the
mystic knows God by personal, one to one contact between their own spirit
(soul) and the spirit of God; heart to heart, or as Augustine called it, “cor ad
cor loquitur.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a> Because of the one to one, highly
individualized nature of this experience, one might think the mystic would
exist outside of the domain of the major religions of the world. That, in fact, is not the case. Mystics are most often allied with one of the
major world religions, including (but not limited to) the Abrahamic religions
of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The mystic’s conceptions of God do not only
come from the small voice speaking to him in the silence of his soul. Instead, the
mystic combines these esoteric experiences with the teachings and traditions of
their religion. Much has been written on
the comparability between the mystics of the differing world religions, noting
that the only differences between them stem from the underlying religion
itself. The overarching practice of
seeking to actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experience</i> what
philosophers call the “Absolute truth”, (what theologians refer to as God),
seems to know no theological boundaries.
A Christian mystic seeks the same “beyond human” communion with the
Trinity as the Jewish mystic does with YWEH, and the Muslim mystic does with
Allah. The theology of Christianity
differs from the llm al-Kalam of Islam and the theology of Judaism in the same
ways, whether the believer is a mystic or not.
Hence, the principal differences that separate the mystics of the world
are the same as the differences that separate all believers. My research seeks not to explain, compare, or
contrast the mystics of the differing religions, as I mentioned that much has
been written on that subject already, but rather to examine how the mystics of
one religion (Judaism) influenced the foundation and theoretical framework of
another religion (Christianity). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Authority<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Mysticism
is not a term that an ancient mystic himself would use to describe his realm of
religiosity. In that regard, mysticism
as we have come to understand and know it through most primary sources is not
emic, and therefore very difficult to accurately investigate using a
hermeneutic approach. The Essenes, for
example, did not label themselves “mystics” in ancient Jerusalem. Our account of them as mystics comes form a
purely etic viewpoint. In addition, the
literature on early Jewish and Christian mysticism is not the possession of a single
religious community, or maintained by a single religious community. While there is mounting evidence that that
the main origins of the tradition was in Jewish priestly circles, most of the
literature on the subject is from a variety of esoteric Jews and Christians
over the course of several centuries. Making the matter more difficult is the
amount of pseudepigrapha in “primary” Jewish sources. While this problem also exists in Christian
sources, is seems to be more of a roadblock to the student of Jewish mysticism,
as most scholars agree that the predominant primary source on the topic, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Zohar</i>, is pseudepigraphical. It is therefore difficult to avoid an etic
commentary on the topic of mysticism unless such sacred texts as the Tanakh and
the Bible themselves are used. (Although
one could argue that much of the Tanakh itself is etic in nature.) Therefore, primary sources used for my
research in the area of Jewish mysticism include The Talmud<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a>,
including portions of the Midrash<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
and the Tanakh <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></span></span></a>(The
Hebrew Bible). Contained within the
Talmud is the Torah.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[5]</span></span></span></a> Very helpful to my understanding of these
texts were writings by Josepus <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[6]</span></span></span></a>, a
first century Jewish hagiographer, theologian and scholar. Christian primary sources include an
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament of the Bible with a parallel column in
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Revised Standard Version</i>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[7]</span></span></span></a> as
well as excerpts by Origen<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[8]</span></span></span></a>,
and Gregory of Nyssa<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[9]</span></span></span></a>,
both Fathers of the Early Christian Church.
A basic framework for my understanding of Jewish and Christian mysticism
includes secondary sources by Joshua Abelson<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[10]</span></span></span></a>
and Evelyn Underhill.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[11]</span></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Encyclopedia
of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[12]</span></b></span></span></a>
</i>was helpful in clarifying Jewish terms that I was unfamiliar with. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Jewish Mysticism History<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The
beginning of mysticism is usually linked to the Essenes, a sect of the Second
Temple Jews. Known by the Greeks as the
“Holy Ones”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[13]</span></span></span></a>,
these mysterious Jews are now assumed to be the original owners of the Dead Sea
Scroll library. The sect was closed to
society, and was dominated by hereditary priests who had to go through multiple
rites of purification before being accepted into the sect. According to Josephus, the Essenes were one
of three sects among the Jews at the time of Christ who<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“ …Had different opinions concerning
human actions; the one was called the sect of the Pharisees, another the sect
of the Sadducees, and the other the sect of the Essenes. Now for the Pharisees, they say that some
actions, but not all, are the work of fate, and that some of them are in our
own power, and that they are liable to fate, but are not caused by fate. But the sect of the Essenes affirms that fate
governs all things, and that nothing befalls men but what is according to its
determination. And for the Sadducees,
they take away fate, and they say there is no such thing, and that the events
of human affairs are not at it’s disposal; but they suppose that all of our
actions are in our power, so that we ourselves are the cause of what is good,
and receive evil from our own folly.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[14]</span></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span>This clearly illustrates marked
difference between the three sects.
Josephus later stated that the Essenes were interpreters of dreams, and
were very diligent in the reading of the sacred books. Philo of Alexandria, who often tried to
reconcile Jewish exegesis with Stoic philosophy, wrote this of the Essenes:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">“Of natural philosophy, the Essenes only study that
which pertains to the existence of God and the beginning of all things,
otherwise they devote all their attention to ethics, using as instructors the
laws of their fathers, which, without the outpouring of the Divine Spirit, the
human mind could not have devised…for, following their ancient traditions, they
obtain their philosophy by means of allegorical interpretations…Of the love of
God they exhibit myriads of examples, inasmuch as they strive for a continued
uninterrupted life of purity and holiness; they avoid swearing and falsehood,
and they declare God causes only good and no evil whatsoever…no one possesses a
house absolutely as his own, one which does not at the same time belong to all;
for, in addition to living together in companies, their houses are open also to
their adherents coming from other quarters.
They have a storehouse for all, and the same diet; their garments belong
to all in common, and their meals are taken in common.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[15]</span></span></span></a> </span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Clearly, this sect of Judaism combined mystical speculation
with an ascetic mode of life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Merkabah
(chariot) mysticism came into being in the early second century. Merkabah mysticism used as its framework a
vision of God experienced by Ezekiel, and is explained in great detail in
Ezekiel Chapters 1-5. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">n my
thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the
exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">2</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> On the
fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— <b>3</b>
the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar
River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">4</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> I
looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with
flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire
looked like glowing metal, <b>5</b> and in the fire was what looked like four
living creatures. In appearance their form was human, <b>6</b> but each of them
had four faces and four wings. <b>7</b> Their legs were straight; their feet
were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. <b>8</b> Under
their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had
faces and wings, <b>9</b> and the wings of one touched the wings of another.
Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">10</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Their
faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on
the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox;
each also had the face of an eagle. <b>11</b> Such were their faces. They each
had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on
either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. <b>12</b> Each one
went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without
turning as they went. <b>13</b> The appearance of the living creatures was like
burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the
creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. <b>14</b> The
creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">15</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> As I
looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each
creature with its four faces. <b>16</b> This was the appearance and structure
of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each
appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. <b>17</b> As they moved,
they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels
did not change direction as the creatures went. <b>18</b> Their rims were high
and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">19</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> When
the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living
creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. <b>20</b> Wherever the
spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them,
because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. <b>21</b> When
the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also
stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along
with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">22</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Spread
out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a
vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. <b>23</b> Under the vault their
wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering
its body. <b>24</b> When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings,
like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the
tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">25</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Then
there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with
lowered wings. <b>26</b> Above the vault over their heads was what looked like
a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that
of a man. <b>27</b> I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked
like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like
fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. <b>28</b> Like the appearance of a
rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> This was the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the LORD.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[16]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span>For the Jewish mystics of the 1st and 2nd
centuries, Ezekiel’s image of YWEH riding upon a chariot of the “living
creatures” was outside the range of the deepest esoteric experiences of all of
the other Old Testament personages. The
chariot was interpreted as an invitation from the Divine to man to come and
experience the secret which he so desperately seeks: the experience of the
Absolute, the being of God himself. The
idea that God is the first one to initiate a union of man and God, or has
“called” ones soul to unite with the divine, is important to all mystics. The chariot, then, is a mystic vehicle to
carry one to the unseen. Every mystic
wants to be the chariot rider, to be carried to his ultimate union with the
divine. However, as Joshua Ableson points out in his commentary on the Merkavah
mystics “it was believed that he could
only undertake this Merkavah-ride, who was in possession of all religious
knowledge, observed all the commandments and precepts and was almost superhuman
in the purity of his life.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[17]</span></span></span></a>
While these roots of Merkavah mysticism were planted firmly in the 2nd and 3<sup>rd</sup>
centuries, they did not bloom and flourish until the 7<sup>th</sup>- 11<sup>th</sup>
centuries. Much has been speculated about the meaning of the chariot. Was it a true vision or an experiential
event? Does the text hold hidden meaning with each description holding
significance for the future? Is the text
eschatological? Some modern day occult
claim the Merkavah was not a chariot but an alien spaceship! It is understandable
why this passage, in the midst of literature that is otherwise devoid of
dramatic and colorful descriptions would glean such attention and speculation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Although it is
outside the scope of the time period this article seeks to examine, a mention
must be made to the ultimate expression of Jewish mysticism: Kabbalah. Kabbalah is an esoteric gnostic occult that
emerged in medieval Spain in the 12<sup>th</sup> century. Kabbalistic teachings look to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Zohar</i> as their primary source of
inspiration. The Zohar is a commentary
of the Torah, (the first five books of the Old Testament). A Spanish Jew by the name of Moses de Leon
attributed the book to a 2<sup>nd</sup> century Rabbi by the name of Shimon bar
Yochai, but scholars are now in general agreement that de Leon penned the work
himself. The practices and beliefs of 15<sup>th</sup> century Kabbalists had
much influence on Christian mystics and the Humanist movement (as well modern
day New-Age Hollywood!) The Kabbalah school of thought attempts to explain the
relationship between an unchanging external, mysterious YWEH (known as Ein Sof)
and the mortal, finite universe, by seeking to define the nature of the
universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various
other ontological questions. Given, however
that this article seeks to examine the influence of the Jewish mystics on the
Early Christian Church, I will stick to sects of Jewish mysticism that took
place between 500 BCE and 400 CE, that is, the Essenes and the Merkavah. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Connections<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>It
is easy to find the similarities between the three Abrahamic religions. The mere fact that they are categorized
together under the same heading within world religions indicates enough of a
resemblance to one another, even beyond their homogeneous beginnings. It would not be new or even controversial for
me to suggest a sequential, linear progression from Judaism to Christianity to
Islam. My research does not aim to
reinforce these arguments, but rather to look deeper. What specific aspects of
Judaism continue on into the Christian faith? It is here where I draw a
distinction in that there are, as mentioned above, fundamental differences
between the sects of Judaism at the time of Christ. I argue that the mystic
sects of Judaism, (the Essenes and the Merkavah’s), are the factions of Judaism
that influenced the formation and practices of early Christianity the
most. Specifically, there are three
principal dimensions of early Jewish mysticism that are also primary in early
Christianity. These dimensions are an
incorporation of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">speculative</i></b>, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experiential</i></b>
and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">practical</i></b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3a. The Speculative<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>The
first dimension of the two religions is that of speculation, that is, the
search for the absolute truth and revealed nature of the identity of God. This speculation also includes a quest for
both the cosmogony (origins) and the cosmology (organization) of the
universe. This dimension is most
realized in the esoteric followers of both religions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
The centerpiece of
the cosmogony of the identity of God in mystic Judaism is that God has a
“body.” This body is known as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kavod</i> of YHWH.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[18]</span></span></span></a>
The esoteric interpretation of the Kavod is that of a vision of a divine form
created by the invisible, formless God that is actually visible to the human
eye. This body of God can take the forms
of light, clouds, angles, or be felt in just its presence, known as the Shekhinah
(the Holy Spirit.)<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[19]</span></span></span></a> The Essenes believed that complete devotion
to the sacred texts, abstinence from sex and certain foods, and communal prayer
might bring the believer to the ultimate experience of the Kavod (which
literally means “glory.”) The Kavod must be “experienced” or perceived, as it
was believed at the time that no one could look directly at the face of God and
live. This is illustrated in Moses’ encounter with God:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“So the Lord said to Moses, “While my Glory passes
by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand
until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand and you shall see my
back. But my face shall not be seen.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[20]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
The concept of Kavod
had a profound impact on the formation of the Christology’s of the early
Christian Church. John was the most
prolific of writers in his belief that Jesus was the revealed Kavod descended
here on earth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
John wrote in Chapter One, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">14</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[21]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
and again in Chapter 11, directly quoting Christ immediately following
the resurrection of Lazarus, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>38</b>
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone
laid across the entrance. <b>39</b> “Take away the stone,” he said.“ But,
Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad
odor, for he has been there four days.” <b>40</b> Then Jesus said, “Did I not
tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[22]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
In total, John refers to the glory or Kavad of God revealed through
Christ seven times in the Book of John.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[23]</span></span></span></a> Paul also mentions Christ as the glorified
image of God in <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
II Corinthians:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">4</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> The god
of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the
light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[24]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
And even in a more powerful way in Colossians:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">15</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> The Son
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[25]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
Clearly, the concept of Kavod was a theologically fundamental
principal of the esoteric Essenes that became a foundational key factor in the
overall Christian understanding of the nature and identity of Christ. Thereby, the speculation about the identity
and nature of God and the search for absolute cosmogony and cosmology of God
was carried from the mystics to the early Christians. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3b. The Experiential <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>The
quest for a direct encounter with a deity is the experiential dimension of both
the mystic Jews and the early Christians. The Jewish mystics sought not only
knowledge of God, but also an esoteric experience with him. This is clear in the apocalyptic literature
of both religions. Second
Temple eschatology relates that the mystical, the belief in the immediate and
direct experience of God, is an important part of the last days. This religious
experience, an encounter with God that is an act of revelation itself, results
in the devotee’s immediate personal transformation and the uncovering of God’s
mysteries. According to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness</i>, (one of the
scrolls found of the Dead Sea Scrolls, or Qumran Scrolls), the Essenes were
awaiting the cataclysmic struggle between the Sons of Light (themselves) and
the Sons of Darkness (everybody else).
This battle was to occur not only between the earthly beings, but also
joining them would be the cosmic forces of good and evil, and would signal the
end of days. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
Paul wrote in detail of the faithful who experienced
Christ’s spirit. He felt these
Christians could start their transformation into the image of God while still
on earth but that the complete transformation would only occur after death. Paul states in Romans:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">10</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> But if Christ is in you, then
even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life<b>
</b>because of righteousness. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10pt;">[26]</span></span></span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">This is but one example of many (thousands)
of references to the Holy Spirit altering or affecting the Early Christians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;"> </span>For
these mystical Jews and Christians, experiencing a vision of the Kavod, (the
Image of the Glory of God), stamped God's image on the soul. Words used to
describe these experiences included "glorified," "exalted,"
or "angelic." The apocalyptic literatures describe believers clothed
in shining white garments, as angels worshiping God before his throne,
transformed into beings of fire or light, and enthroned with God's name or image.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn27;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[27]</span></span></span></a> This is but one example of many shared
concepts between the apocalyptic literatures of the mystics of Judaism (such as
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Apocalypse of Abraham</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Testament of Levi</i>) and the book of Revelation
in the Christian Canon. Comparisons could also be made between cosmic
revelations such as descriptions of heaven, hell and events at the end of time,
as well as several symbolic symbols such as hands, bowls, scrolls, angels, or
dragons.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn28;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[28]</span></span></span></a> Once again, we see an important concept of
the mystics carried into the essential framework of early Christianity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
It is
important to note, that in the cases of both religions, this shift of thought
to experiencing God in the present may have been due to failed eschatological
expectations. Hopes for the long awaited
battle between the forces of light and the forces of dark for the mystics, and
the imminent return of Christ for the Christians had not gone as previously thought. Moving these hope for the future to actual
experiences of the present made the reward of Kavod available to all believers,
and a possible reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3c. The Practical<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
The most obvious shared
dimension between the Jewish mystics and the Early Christians was that of their
shared practical application of their experiences in order to effect
change. This was illustrated in their
communal practices, which served as an avenue for mystical transformation. Examples of these practices included
asceticism (denying oneself of worldly pleasures), initiation rites (such as
Circumcision for the Jews and Baptism for the Christians), washing (such as
foot washing for Christians and purification rituals for the Jews), the
anointing of the body and hair with sacramental oil, spirit possession, sexual
asceticism, and sacramental ritual behavior, (such as the Passover meal and the
Eucharist.) The transformation of the mystical ideals into the sacramental
rituals of the early Christian Church and the “Gnostic” schools is fascinating.
The sacraments seem to normalize the mystical, making the presence of God
regularly available to believers. Baptism, anointing, and the Eucharist all
involve the integration of the Holy Spirit and the Christ into the soul. These
rituals were understood as the vehicle that elevates and transports the person
into the sacred realm so that he or she can come into the very presence of God.
This is the ultimate combination of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">speculative</i>
theology <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">experienced</i> through the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">practical</i>; and once again illustrates
how the mystics of Judaism influenced the early Christians. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
While it is clear to me
that many practices and beliefs of Christians are directly taken from the
practices and beliefs of the Jewish mystics, it remains unclear to me if
Christianity was a continuum of the Jewish mystic sect of the Essenes, (with
the addition of the long-awaited Messiah), or a completely new religion that
merely borrowed a few key dimensions from the Essenes. What, if anything did
the other non-mystic Jewish sects contribute? How many of the Essenes converted
to Christianity in comparison to the other Jewish sects? Was Jesus himself an
Essene? All of these remain topics for further research. However, there is arguably no question that
the Jewish faith and specifically the mystics of Judaism influenced the
theology, framework and Christology of the Christian Church. <span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">___________________________________________________________________________________</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">References</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">O'Donnell,
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<http://www.stoa.org/hippo/>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Barclay,
Joseph. "The Talmud." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. London1878. Web. 6 Mar
2012. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/bar/bar000.htm>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Rapaport,
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Kimball,
Christopher V. "The Tanach." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. Westminster Hebrew
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Whiston,
William. <i>The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged</i>. 5th. 1.
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Brown,
Robert K., and Phillip W. Comfort. <i>The New Greek-English Interlinear New
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">McGinn,
Bernard. <i>The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism: Origen: Commentary
on the Song of Songs</i>. New York, New York: Random House, 20006. Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">McGinn,
Bernard. <i>The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism: Gregory of Nyssa:
the Life of Moses</i>. New York, New York: Random House, 2006. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Abelson,
Joshua. <i>Jewish Mysticism</i>. First Published in 1913: Forgotten Books,
2008. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Underhill,
Evelyn. <i>Mysticism</i>. 12th.Lexington, KY: 2011. Print. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Dennis,
Rabbi Geoffrey. <i>The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism</i>.
1st ed. Woodbury. MN: llewellyn Publications, 2011. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Whiston,
William. <i>The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged</i>. 5th. 1.
Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1985. Print. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Antiquities of the Jews</i>.” pp. 274, Book Xiii, Chapter V, Section 9.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Coleson,
F.H.. "The Contemplative Life." <i>Early Jewish Writings</i>. pp. 53,
206. 2011. Web. 15 Mar 2012.
<http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book34.html>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">E.
Wolfson, "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeridah la-Merkavah</i>:
Typology of Ecstasy and Enthronement in Ancient Jewish Mysticism," in R.
Herrera (ed.), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mystics of the Book:
Themes, Topics, and Typologies</i> (New York: Lang, 1993) pp. 13-44<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">O'Donnell, James.
"Augustine’s Confessions: An Electronic Edition." <i>The STOA
Consortium</i>. The STOA Consortium, 1992. Web. 03 Mar 2012.
<http://www.stoa.org/hippo/>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Barclay, Joseph.
"The Talmud." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. London1878. Web. 6 Mar 2012.
<http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/bar/bar000.htm>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Rapaport, Samuel.
"Tales and Maxims from the Midrash." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. George Routledge
& Sons Limited, 1907. Web. 10 Mar 2012.
<http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/tmm/tmm00.htm>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Kimball, Christopher V.
"The Tanach." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. Westminster Hebrew Institute, 20
OCT 2006. Web. 06 Mar 2012. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/tan/index.htm</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[5]</span></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">The Pentateuch,</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;"> or the First Five books of the Hebrew Old
Testament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[6]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Whiston, William. <i>The
Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged</i>. 5th. 1. Peabody, Massachusetts:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1985. Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[7]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Brown, Robert K., and
Phillip W. Comfort. <i>The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament</i>. UBS
4th Edition;Nestle-Aland 26th Edition. Munster/Westphalia: Tyndale, 1990.
Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[8]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">McGinn, Bernard. <i>The
Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism: Origen: Commentary on the Song of
Songs</i>. New York, New York: Random House, 20006. Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[9]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">McGinn, Bernard. <i>The
Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism: Gregory of Nyssa: the Life of Moses</i>.
New York, New York: Random House, 2006. Print. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[10]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Abelson, Joshua. <i>Jewish
Mysticism</i>. First Published in 1913: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[11]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Underhill, Evelyn. <i>Mysticism</i>.
12th.Lexington, KY: 2011. Print. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[12]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Dennis, Rabbi Geoffrey. <i>The
Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism</i>. 1st ed. Woodbury. MN:
llewellyn Publications, 2011. Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[13]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Abelson, Joshua. <i>Jewish
Mysticism</i>. First Published in 1913: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[14]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Whiston, William. <i>The
Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged</i>. 5th. 1. Peabody, Massachusetts:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1985. Print. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Antiquities
of the Jews</i>.” pp. 274, Book Xiii,
Chapter V, Section 9. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[15]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Coleson, F.H.. "The
Contemplative Life." <i>Early Jewish Writings</i>. pp. 53, 206. 2011. Web.
15 Mar 2012. <http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book34.html>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn16" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[16]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Kimball, Christopher V.
"The Tanach." <i>Sacred Texts</i>. Westminster Hebrew Institute, 20
OCT 2006. Web. 06 Mar 2012. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/tan/index.htm</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn17" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[17]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Abelson, Joshua. <i>Jewish
Mysticism</i>. First Published in 1913: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. pp.
36-37.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn18" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[18]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Exodus 33, Isaiah 6, Leviticus Rabbah 1:14</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn19" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[19]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Dennis, Rabbi Geoffrey. <i>The
Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism</i>. 1st ed. Woodbury. MN:
llewellyn Publications, 2011. Print. pp. 108</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn20" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[20]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Exodus 33:22-23</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn21" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[21]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">John 1:14</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn22" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[22]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">John 11:38-40</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn23" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[23]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">1:14; 2:11; 11:40; 12:23,
28, 41; 13:32; 17:1-5, 22-23.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn24" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[24]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">II Corinthians 4:4</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn25" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[25]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Colossians 1:15</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[26]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Romans 8:10</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn27" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn27;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[27]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">E. Wolfson, "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeridah la-Merkavah</i>: Typology of Ecstasy
and Enthronement in Ancient Jewish Mysticism," in R. Herrera (ed.), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mystics of the Book: Themes, Topics, and
Typologies</i> (New York: Lang, 1993) pp. 13-44<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn28" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn28;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">[28]</span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">Dennis, Rabbi Geoffrey. <i>The
Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism</i>. 1st ed. Woodbury. MN:
llewellyn Publications, 2011. Print. pp. 18</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-49336476133704245692011-12-18T12:49:00.000-05:002011-12-18T12:49:27.540-05:00Whew! One entire semester's of work in one 83 page paper!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="Section1"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_yNHRjFRUHQEpSAAYsU0HlbD46PNyJH7tmggJ-3gJy0Pt66fzL1HxuKDYZa-0oO-AbN1H0yGMwpM_unC7R30qaGT-aLHEne58UMF9IdzPBFysn33wjVRKkGkftYFUEvyW3POGADTeMk/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_yNHRjFRUHQEpSAAYsU0HlbD46PNyJH7tmggJ-3gJy0Pt66fzL1HxuKDYZa-0oO-AbN1H0yGMwpM_unC7R30qaGT-aLHEne58UMF9IdzPBFysn33wjVRKkGkftYFUEvyW3POGADTeMk/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>The following is a relection of my Fall 2011 semester as a student in a pilot section of an English Course at Wayne State University. The Appendix portion contains the final Synthesis Project, which outlines the findings of my study. </i></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Part One: Reflection Letter<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As an undergraduate student of Clinical Psychology and Social Work, I had the opportunity to participate in a pilot English course offered by the University this semester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The standard version of the course is Intermediate English, which emphasizes the conduction of research in order to prepare the student for intensive writing courses within their majors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pilot section in which I participated was developed by the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">2011 Composition Committee in order to research new teaching methods that will improve student connections between their required Intermediate English course and their future Writing Intensive course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary goal of the pilot course was to teach students such as myself a way to analyze discourse communities so that no matter what writing context encountered, we will be able to actively participate in that writing context. The theoretical framework for the course was an extensive body of research completed on discourse communities, which dissects how to completely analyze discourse communities so that a writer can achieve a heuristic of writing for not only for a particular discourse community, but for any and all discourse they may encounter. In essence, the course used the practice of writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">about</i> writing as a method to learn about writing across various discourse communities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The objectives of the pilot course were clearly outlined into four well-defined learning outcomes:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 117.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -45.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">I.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">To produce writing that shows an ability to effectively locate, comprehend, and analyze texts from the students chosen discipline or profession (or discourse community) and shows an understanding of their diverse rhetorical situation, purposes, audiences, and genre conventions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 117.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -45.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">II.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">To produce an extended, appropriate research project that applies rhetorical strategies to explore a research question applicable to the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This project must draw substantively on concepts from the relevant literature; uses primary, and/or secondary research; and include a variety of research genres. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 117.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -45.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">III.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">To produce writing that shows the use of a flexible writing process. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 117.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -45.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">IV.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">To produce writing that shows an awareness of writing strategies and how these strategies function rhetorically and how they may be applied in other writing situations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Through the successful completion of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>, data collection and coding, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Data Collection Report,</i> a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i>, and short written analyses of published works from discourse community theoretical framework, I have achieved the course objectives as outlined above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This reflection paper serves to cite examples of my mastery of these aforementioned learning objectives from these writing and research projects, collectively forming a portfolio of sorts of my work from this semester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All examples cited are located in the appendix of this document, and have been hyperlinked for ease of location within context. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first learning objective of the course laid the foundation for successful completion of the remainder of the learning objectives. However, before rhetorical analysis could be competed on my chosen discourse community of study (Clinical Social Work), an understanding of what discourse communities are and what the key methods of analysis of a discourse community would be was necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This understanding was accomplished by extensive reading on the topic of discourse communities (as provided by the course instructor), and the writing of short responses to said readings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By completing these short analyses of the theoretical framework for the course, I was able to compare and contrast how different “experts” in the field of writing viewed and defined discourse communities; and more specifically, how a discourse community could be evaluated in order to gain assimilation into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This reading and writing of analyses allowed me to develop my own ideas about what a discourse community is, including a methodology of analysis of any discourse communities, and finally, to analyze written works from within the discourse community of my chosen field. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing Response 3</i>, I spend some time summarizing the differing opinions of Gee and Swales, which illustrates my new basic knowledge base of the concepts introduced. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is noted in the following excerpt from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing Response 3</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“Gee emphasizes the social practices of a discourse community, claiming it to be an “identity kit” that includes actions, language, literacy, and style, amongst other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gee states our identity kit also contains our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">primary Discourse</i>, (our introduction to the world and our identity) and our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">secondary Discourse</i>, (outside of the home based social institutions such as churches and schools.) Gee argues that the ease in which fluency is gained in any secondary Discourse is influenced greatly upon whether their primary Discourse community practiced similar “speaking, writing, doing, being, valuing, and believing” as the secondary Discourse. Gee goes on to say that you cannot embody a Discourse; the members of the community choose to either accept you as a member of the community or as an apprentice of the community. Swales, on the other hand, takes no note of the social behaviors of a Discourse, but instead defines a discourse community by six defining characteristics: “common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community specific genres, a highly specialized terminology and a high level of expertise.” In stark contrast to Gee, Swales argues that it is possible for participation in a Discourse to occur <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">without</i> assimilation, citing professional journalist who assume temporary membership in a wide array of discourse communities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022WAThree1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">WAThree1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing Response 2</i>, an analysis of the reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Idea of Community in the Study of Writing, </i>I comment on Joseph Harris’ view that discourse communities are completely separate: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“I visualize this accumulation of knowledge about writing in the form of a wagon wheel. At the center, or hub of the wheel is the writer himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The discourse communities to which the writer belongs to, or the extent of the writers involvement, exposure, conversation, and readings of a particular discourse community form the spokes of the wheel, connecting and serving as a conduit and support between the writer and the outside rim of the wheel. This rim, encircling both the discourse community and the writer himself, is the new ideas and opinions of the writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more discourse communities the writer is associated with, or the greater and deeper the relationship is between the discourse community and the writer, the more profound, original, and well supported the ideas the writer produces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the wheel passes through space and time, it discards some ideas and develops new ones, as the writer and the discourse communities are in constant motion or processing.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022WATwo1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">WATwo1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">My disagreement of Harris’ point of view reflects that I have, through assimilation of knowledge of other points of view, come to develop my own heuristic for exactly what a discourse community is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most importantly, I am able over time to apply the knowledge I have gleaned from these professional writers and begin apply it to analysis of my own discourse community, that of Clinical Social Work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, at this early stage of the knowledge gaining process, I was only able to apply it to circumstances of which I have experienced myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I share this experience in my analysis of Gee and Swales in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing Response 3:</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“Gee makes a very compelling argument in his explanation of how our primary Discourse inflects the way we participate in our secondary Discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our primary Discourse is vastly different (in language, practice or lifestyle) from the secondary Discourse we are trying to learn, our assimilation will be infinitely more challenging. I have witnessed this difficulty firsthand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a foster parent, I have served children who have come to live in my home after many years of living within their primary Discourse, which was very different from mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family was to become one of their secondary Discourses (school being the other).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assimilation into the language, style, customs and behavior of my Discourse was very difficult for the children, even though they tried desperately to assimilate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the fields of sociology and psychology, this assimilation is known as socialization.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">What Gee fails to point out, and what I feel is of upmost relevance, is where cognitive ability comes into play when determining the speed of which one can assimilate into a new Discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us consider again my former foster children, who came to me as a sibling group of four. Two of the children had very low IQ’s, one had an average IQ, and one had a higher than average IQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one with the higher IQ was able to assimilate the language and dialect and even the social customs of my family much faster than the others, followed shortly thereafter by the one with the average IQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cognitive ability also placed them at or above grade level in school, thereby exposing them to a similar secondary Discourse that embraced higher thinking, literacy, and a similar cultural environment to that of my home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two with lower IQ’s were in remedial school programs, which focused on basic skills. In this class, children with similar primary Discourses surrounded my foster children, thereby reinforcing the primary Discourse and making fluency in the secondary Discourse very difficult. While I by no means mean to suggest that this is concrete empirical evidence, I do think that it suggest exploration to determine if cognitive ability affects secondary Discourse assimilation is warranted.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022WAThree2\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">WAThree2</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once I felt more confident of my ability to define discourse community, and the effective methods for analysis of one, I was able to complete a rhetorical analysis within the discourse community of my chosen field of study, Clinical Social Work. This rhetorical analysis defines social work practice, and uses the five knowledge domains outlined by Beaufort (15-19) as a framework for analysis of four primary sources consisting of both journal articles and case studies published in nationally known social work and public health journals. In dong so, I was able to define the key genres, rhetorical situations and the purposes of said tools within the Clinical Social Work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A specific rhetorical situation mentioned in the rhetorical analysis was that of the usage of a specific lexicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is key, as:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“…</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">words that can have multiple meanings or implications are clearly defined so that there is no room for interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in the public health piece, abuse is defined as “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">physical maltreatment” (628) and is further divided into the categories of child abuse, spouse abuse and elder abuse. “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault,” published in 2011 in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine </i>also clearly defines the main terms of the work: sexual assault and rape (835). This is done at the beginning of the piece, so there can be no confusion in the mind of the clinical practitioner. Defining terms comprehensively is of great importance in the social sciences, as there may be legal implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point, the piece on sexual assault clearly states the legal definitions of rape, body orifice, and incapacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rape is a legal term and in the United States refers to any penetration of a body orifice (mouth, vagina, or anus) involving force or the threat of force or incapacity (i.e. associated with young or old age, cognitive or physical disability, or drug or alcohol intoxication) and nonconsent” (835). This very detailed definition of the terms provides the practitioner with information necessary to make a determination of whether to include law enforcement into the circle of patient care, and in what terms to explain to both the patient and the law enforcement what has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, all of the pieces examined use a lexicon that would be somewhat foreign to those outside of the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Words and phrases such as “supplemental security income”, “developmental disabilities”, “placement”, “environmental” and “coefficient” are just a few examples of words that take on a different meaning within social work practice. Examining both this lexicon as well as the APA method of formatting allows one to make a reasonable attempt at understanding the rhetorical knowledge domain of the social work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">As a novice in the social work discourse community, it is difficult to assess all of the knowledge that a rhetorical situation can provide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, it is unclear exactly who the anticipated audience is, specifically in the piece published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This piece could easily be read and put into practice by clinical social workers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical responders and police officers, all of which represent vastly different discourse communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further study in the field of social work is required in order to understand audience and context in a more concrete way.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022RAFinal1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">RAFinal1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Clearly, an understanding of the very word choices the discourse community employs is critical to successful practice within the community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The understanding of appropriate and functional genre within the discourse community was also illustrated within the rhetorical analysis, specifically in the instance of case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note this example from the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“Case studies are detailed analyses of an individual or family unit, which stresses developmental factors in relation to context. Social workers write and read case studies not as a method to determine causation or correlation, but as a method of providing a detailed and oftentimes ongoing record of events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case study of John, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> the social worker interviewed John’s mother and summarizes all of what she had to say about John in the defined categories of Home, Life, School and Concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The social worker then uses the ecosystem perspective (another term in the social work lexicon) to look at how individual, family, and larger environmental structures affect John and his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the social worker lists interventions that are needed at each level to improve family functioning. This mode of genre is extremely useful to social work discourse community for several reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>, as social workers oftentimes do not see their clients more than on a monthly basis, the ongoing case study provides a summary of previous events, which can refresh the memory of the worker in regards to the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, the case study provides the worker with a list of all of the services that have been recommended for the client, and can be used in subsequent visits as a checklist to see what services have been utilized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the case study provides those new to the case (other social workers, psychologist, medical professionals, adoptive parents, attorneys or judges) with a detailed recorded history of prior events in the life of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case study genre is particularly interesting in that it employs a specialized style of writing that completely eliminates the writer of the document (the social worker) from the personalized case of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies are never written in the first person, but rather in the third person omniscient point of view, which </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">takes a panoramic, bird’s eye view of the clients, and in describing the overall picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Published articles and journal studies have a very different purpose than the above- mentioned case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Articles are often used to inform social workers about new applications of methods of therapy. Articles also provide the discourse community with updates as to the political and governmental changes that effect case reporting, qualifications for funding, and acceptance into welfare programs and treatment facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “Care of the Adult Patient After Sexual Assault,” the author provides both novices and experts with new information in regards to emergency department protocol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal studies usually report the findings of studies done either directly on clients, or by studying an accumulation of case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These studies usually report on how well or poorly a new law, change or governmental policy or program is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The media and the government (especially in times of political elections or social unrest), oftentimes quote these studies. Understanding case studies, and studies and articles published in journals is one way to grasp the genre knowledge of the social work discourse community.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022RAFinal2\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">RAFinal2</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">When combined with the abovementioned analyses of the course theoretical framework readings, the rhetorical analysis shows that I have gained mastery in locating, comprehending, and analyzing texts from within the Clinical Social Work discourse community, as I demonstrate an understanding of the communities rhetorical situations, purposes, and genre conventions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The second learning objective of the course was by far the most challenging portion of the course for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This objective required me to produce an extended, appropriate research project that applied rhetorical strategies to explore a research question applicable to the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This project drew substantively on concepts from the relevant literature; used primary, and/or secondary research; and included a variety of research genres. Entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project, </i>this study uses:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">a large body of published works on discourse community analysis as it’s framework, this study uses rhetorical analysis, as well as data collected through interview and observation to examine the convergence of knowledge domains within the Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology discourse communities as practiced within an Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This study was completed in order to answer my primary research question: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“ Must </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit be completely adept in all of the knowledge domains of both the Clinical Social Work discourse community and Clinical Social Psychology discourse community in order to effectively achieve the overarching goal of the clinical social work community as previously described?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN2\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN2</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The findings of this study draw substantively on concepts from relevant literatures, as examined in the rhetorical analysis, uses both primary and secondary research in the forms of interview, data collection and class readings, and makes an argument that is insightful, persuasive, and written in a style accepted by the Clinical Social Work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">First, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i> uses both primary and secondary research to effectively argue its thesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An interview was conducted with an expert in the field, and a day was spent in observation in the field. </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022INT1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">INT1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">, </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022OBS1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">OBS1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">. Key to my understanding of these field notes was usage of the coding process as defined by Dr. Sharan B. Merriam of the University of Georgia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This framework of primary data collection aims to find answers to research questions by locating and labeling categories or themes and translating reoccurrence or regularities of these themes into findings:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Coding of both the interview and observation data took place in two stages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Open Coding:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Memos of key words and my initial responses, reactions and queries were noted. Notation was made of application or practice of any of Beaufort’s five knowledge domains, each specifically labeled. Diagnosis was made of all patients (n=7) using the multi-axial system. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Axial Coding: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Data was subsequently grouped and separated into the following categories based on the following recurring themes:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Subject knowledge domain is very specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Writing Process and Genre knowledge domains are very specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rhetorical knowledge domain blends both Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Communities. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In agreement with Dr. Merriam, qualitative analysis of the data began with the use of inductive reasoning in the open coding process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comparative analysis began in the axial coding process, as the three main pieces of data (rhetorical analysis, interview and observation) differentiated in relationship to recurring coding themes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, deductive reasoning was evident in the correlation and development of findings.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN3\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN3</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style1"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Examples of this coding process can be seen in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Observation Field notes. </i></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022OBS1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">OBS1</span></i></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The field notes list actual observations in black ink, and then go on to code the observation in green ink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lisa explained to me that her job is to evaluate all patients that have a possible psych issue after the attending physician has medically cleared them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note- medically cleared means that there is no reason medically for the patient to be admitted to the hospital other than for possible psychiatric treatment. Lisa uses the GAF Index (Global Assessment of Functioning) in addition to any prior records she has on the patient to determine course of treatment. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Lexicon, Genre, Psych DC Knowledge.</span>” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022OBS2\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">OBS2</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The green coding after this observation shows my labeling of categories within the observation, (lexicon and genre) and then the finally identification of the over-all theme of the observation (Psychology Discourse Community Knowledge).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These themes were then compiled and synthesized into my three overall findings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondary research methods were also included in the final <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project, </i>providing the overarching theoretical framework for the project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presentation of this secondary research is located <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>within the introduction of the project, note:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Social workers are members of a discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They share a common discourse, that is, a form of communication that leads to an informed way of thinking, reading and writing, and when combined, they form a community that uses and creates in an ongoing process the aforementioned discourse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>John Swales, a professor of linguistics and co-director of the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English at the University of Michigan, and author of The Concept of Discourse<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Community, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings </i>proposes the following six defining characteristics sufficient for identifying a group of individuals as a discourse community:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Discourse Community has:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">i.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A broadly agreed set of common public goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">ii.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">iii.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">iv.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">v.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Acquired some specific lexis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">vi.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (471-73).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The discourse community of practicing clinical social workers is as diverse as the clients they aim to serve. However, the overarching goal of the community remains the enhancement of human well-being, and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty (National Social Workers Code of Ethics).” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN4\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN4</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style1"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This primary and secondary research allowed me to make a very persuasive argument both relevant to my area of interest discourse community (Clinical Social Work) and relevant to the overall study/analysis of discourse communities in general. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My thesis supported the argument that Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Unit must be adept in the Clinical Psychology discourse community in order to effectively achieve the overarching goals of the Clinical Social Work community, which is obviously relevant to my field of study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thesis is relevant in the area of general discourse study dialogue (within writing studies scholarship) in that it questions just exactly how easily one person can practice within two discourses simultaneously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This evidence is summarized in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Overall Findings </i>portion of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Correlation between reoccurring themes within the rhetorical analysis, interview and observation showed a remarkable carry-over between the Clinical Social Work discourse community and the Clinical Psychology discourse community, specifically as practiced in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit. This was evident within all five of Beaufort’s knowledge domains, but most pronounced in the domains of subject matter, writing process and genre, and rhetorical knowledge.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN5\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN5</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The third learning objective of the course calls for me to produce writing that shows the use of a flexible writing process, specifically for the writing assignments that I found to be difficult. I have accomplished this objective in both the organization and coding of data in the Synthesis project, as well as in a revision process of the rhetorical analysis. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The writing and organization of the Synthesis Project was not without its challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first glance, the organizational flow of the IMRAD seemed like it would be easily accomplished, especially since all of my primary and secondary research was accomplished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This did not prove to be the case. I struggled with the correct order to present my findings within each section of the IMRAD for days. This is in part because I struggled with the coding of both my interview and field notes in regards to writing process knowledge, and more specifically, how this knowledge became writing in action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time I coded my interview and observation field notes, I did not include The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV) and Axial Coding in part of the categories of the coding. At that time, I did not consider the diagnostic framework an actual part of the writing process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After struggling with the Synthesis Project for days, I decided to scrap all of my previous coding and start over; looking for things I may have missed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This process led me to the discovery that I had not considered the hospital printed forms or the DSM IV and Axial Coding as an actual part of the writing process of my discourse community. Once I coded my field notes accordingly, I discovered what became a significant part of my findings: the Five Axis system and the DSM IV are a very important part of the framework of the Clinical Social Work discourse community and provide a much needed level of standardization and consistency. I was able to articulate this within the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i> in the following manner: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Observation of the Clinical Social Worker in both the Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Unit revealed that the social worker wrote within the framework of the DSM IV and the Five Axis system in a methodical, standardized, almost robotic way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the rushed and often hectic pace of the ED, and given that the social workers primary responsibility was to diagnose and assign consumers and not to provide clinical therapy, her writing process must be drawn from a combination of concrete diagnostic knowledge and a very standardized method for communicating that knowledge.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN6\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN6</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This discovery of this new finding led me to also revisit and rethink a previous project, my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although coding of this part of my research was not required, I decided to do it as a part of the research for my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i>. In doing so, I discovered that much like the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Observation</i> and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Interview</i> field notes, the reoccurring theme of the importance of standardization of the writing process emerged. This finding is reflected in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Syntheses Project</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rhetorical Analysis of “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault” published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine </i>revealed the importance of consistent standardized reporting standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of rape, evidence collection kits contain forms for documentation and to assist examiners and the Clinical Social Worker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After medial clearance, the patient should be offered medical collection. The collection of forensic evidence is a multistep process that can take six or more hours to complete and is best performed by the Clinical Social Worker. The aim is to record the victim’s report of the assault, collect and record evidence to support this report, and collect DNA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Highly sensitive DNA techniques can assist in identifying a perpetrator by matching DNA to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database of convicted felons, maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation” (2-3). In this case, the writing process and the genre used could be a key factor in a criminal case.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN7\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN7</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Another very important part of developing a flexible writing process is embracing and accepting the process of revision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The revision process was crucial in the formation of my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>. My first draft of the Rhetorical Analysis did not define rhetorical knowledge within the theoretical framework of the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began the portion of the paper on rhetorical knowledge like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” was published in 2010 in a journal entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i>. The piece presents the findings of a study completed by the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and uses a scientific method of research to determine that the presence of social workers in an emergency department is very cost effective for a hospital as it reduces the occurrence of admittance. The study is presented in APA format, which outlines the piece into clearly defined sections including Abstract, Background, Method, Sample, Results, Limitations, Discussion, and Reference sections.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022RADRAFT1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RADRAFT1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This start to the section was not an affective method of explaining to my audience the actual context from which I had gleaned the term “rhetorical knowledge.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The revision process resulted in a new introduction to that section, which states: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Beaufort states that writers must address “the specific, immediate rhetorical situation of individual communicative acts…considering the specific audience and purpose for a particular text and how best to communicate rhetorically in that instance” (20). By examining details such as who the author is directing his work towards, the style and formatting of the work, and even the lexis the author has chosen, we can learn a great deal about what Beaufort calls the “social context, material conditions, timing and social relationships” (20) within a discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This detailed examination will lead to obtaining greater rhetorical knowledge of a specific discourse community, which in this case, is social work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, “The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” was published in 2010 in a journal entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i> and presents the findings of a study completed by the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University using a scientific method of research to determine that the presence of social workers in an emergency department is very cost effective for a hospital as it reduces the occurrence of admittance. The study is presented in APA format, which outlines the piece into clearly defined sections including Abstract, Background, Method, Sample, Results, Limitations, Discussion, and Reference sections.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022RAFinal3\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">RAFinal3</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The fourth and final learning objective of the pilot course requires me to produce writing that shows an awareness of the writing strategies that I have used, with an understanding of how these strategies function rhetorically, and how they may be applied to other writing situations. Upon completion of this course, I have found that the theoretical framework on discourse community analysis has been very helpful in developing my own heuristic of both the analysis process and writing processes of any future discourse community I may encounter. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The primary theoretical framework that I used to analyze the majority of my research was that of Anne Beaufort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A complete understanding of her proposed five knowledge domains was crucial in developing a method of analysis and an outline for my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Data Collection Report</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evidence of this is seen in the opening paragraph of the analysis portion of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Data Collection Report</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Using Beaufort’s five knowledge domains of Writing Process Knowledge, Subject Matter Knowledge, Genre Knowledge, Rhetorical Knowledge and the all encompassing Discourse Community Knowledge as a framework, an analysis of both the interview and observation sessions can be made. In doing so, the key recurring themes of brief standardized writing and communication practice and a deep knowledge base of both Psychology and Social Work have emerged.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022DCR1\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">DCR1</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Another example of my implementation of the course framework is seen in the theoretical framework portion of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My research emerges from a body of work on discourse communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Central to this framework are five knowledge domains developed by Anne Beaufort in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This comprehensive model of the five knowledge domains applies to any discourse community. Awareness and assimilation of each of these domains aids a novice within a community to advance from general to context-specific expertise. These knowledge domains can also be expressed as the actual mental schemas writers need to invoke for analyzing new writing tasks either within their current discourse community, or as they enter or overlap into a new discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Beaufort, within this model knowledge domains overlap, and yet still remain distinct, representing situated knowledge entailed in acts of writing. These five knowledge domains include:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Writing Process Knowledge: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How the members of the community approach writing, including drafting, and revision; balanced by the community demands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Subject Matter Knowledge: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How informed and or educated the community members are on the subjects they are writing about. Knowledge of this domain defines what regards acceptable scholarship within the community.</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rhetorical Knowledge: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How the community uses rhetorical techniques to successfully argue and defend positions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Genre Knowledge: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The types of writing the community employs in repeating situations. </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Discourse Community Knowledge: </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The overarching goals and values of the discourse community make manifest in this domain, which encompasses the other four domains </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(15-19).<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="Style2" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The five knowledge domains articulated here form the theoretical framework I will use for analyzing all data collected including the published works in the form of a rhetorical analysis, coded interview responses, and coded observation field notes.” </span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022SYN8\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SYN8</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style1"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">I feel very strongly that I will be able to apply the methodology of Beaufort’s five knowledge domains to any new discourse community I encounter, either in the academic or professional world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once I am able to make an analysis of a newly encountered discourse community, it is important then that I am able to write effectively and in a manner that is relevant and persuasive to the new discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to do so, I must be aware of the writing strategies that I use, and make deliberate decisions about those strategies and how they function within my writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the writing of my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Data Collection Report</i>, I realized that I was not effectively speaking the “language” of the members of my chosen discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I had gained a great deal of content knowledge during the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Observation, </i>I was not effectively communicating that newly gained knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, I added this section to the Data Collection Report: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During the observation session, six patients were admitted to the ED, medically cleared by the medical doctor (meaning their only medial condition appeared to be psychiatric or substance abuse in nature), and turned over to the care of Lisa for an intake behavioral assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa followed the BAI (Behavioral Assessment Intake Form) as a guide for questioning each patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This form included questions ranging from prior hospitalizations and health history, to sharing thoughts of suicide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon completion of this form (which is computerized at some hospitals, but not at the Oakland location), Lisa would score (or code) the form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This score, combined with her with her own notes, would result in a final conclusion of Axis I, Axis II, Axis III, Axis IV and Axis V diagnosis, as well as a GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning Score).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">is the top-level diagnosis that usually represents the acute symptoms that need treatment; Axis 1 diagnoses are the most familiar and widely recognized (e.g., major depressive episode, schizophrenic episode, panic attack). Axis I terms are classified according to </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/DSM_IV/jsp/DSM_VCodes.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">V-codes</span></a><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> by the medical industry (primarily for billing and insurance purposes).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Axis was very important, and the most evident in my observation, as the insurance companies of the patients who required in-patient care demanded this Axis of information before the patient could be admitted. <b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Axis II is for </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/mental.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">personality disorders</span></a><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> and developmental disorders such as </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/menret.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">mental retardation</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">.<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"> Axis II disorders, if present, are likely to influence Axis I problems. For example, a student with a learning disability may become extremely stressed by school and suffer a panic attack (an Axis I diagnosis).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis III is for medical or neurological conditions that may influence a psychiatric problem. For example, diabetes might cause extreme fatigue, which may lead to a depressive episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis IV identifies recent psychosocial stressors such as a death of a loved one, divorce, losing a job, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis V identifies the patient's level of function on a scale of 0-100, (100 is top-level functioning), which was abovementioned as the GAF score.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-field-code: "HYPERLINK \\l \0022DCR2\0022";"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">DCR2</span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This newly included portion helped my readers to understand and process the data I was presenting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also showed to other members of the Clinical Social Work discourse community that I understood the writing process framework from which they function within. The inclusion of this section was an intentional rhetorical decision on my part, reflecting my ability to use writing strategies as a method of influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Overall, I am extremely pleased that I participated in this pilot English course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel that I have learned a great deal about methods of research, and more importantly how to effectively code that research to assess reoccurring themes and potential findings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have also learned a theoretical framework from which I can analyze discourse communities, which will serve me well in both the academic and professional settings. Through the successful completion of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhetorical Analysis</i>, data collection and coding, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Data Collection Report</i>, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Synthesis Project</i>, and short written analyses of published works from discourse community theoretical framework, I have achieved the course objectives as set forth by the Composition Committee. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section2"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part Two: Appendix<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Writing Response 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In this weeks reading (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The idea of Community in the Study of Writing, </i>by Joseph Harris), community is defined by the author as an “empty and sentimental” word that does not have a positive opposing word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, according to Harris, somehow devalues or makes defining one community in relation to another very difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This blurring of the very groups that are meant to be separated by definition when referring to discourse communities makes it possible for us as writers to keep one foot, so to speak, in several discourse communities simultaneously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Harris’ thinking of each discourse community as separate things to step in and out of does not settle well with me. It brings to mind the image of a child moving from mud puddle to mud puddle on a rainy day, splashing and sloshing water along the way. The bits of mud from each puddle that splashed on his boots and pants are carried with him from puddle to puddle, much like the knowledge and styles of writing we have gleaned from one discourse community are carried, albeit not entirely, into our thoughts and writings of other discourse communities we become a part of. The knowledge gained from learning how to effectively communicate within one discourse community is like any other type of knowledge in that once gained, and continually practiced, it is not lost, and therefore a part of all future assimilation of new knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="WATwo1">I visualize this accumulation of knowledge about writing in the form of a wagon wheel. At the center, or hub of the wheel is the writer himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The discourse communities to which the writer belongs to, or the extent of the writers involvement, exposure, conversation, and readings of a particular discourse community form the spokes of the wheel, connecting and serving as a conduit and support between the writer and the outside rim of the wheel. This rim, encircling both the discourse community and the writer himself, is the new ideas and opinions of the writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more discourse communities the writer is associated with, or the greater and deeper the relationship is between the discourse community and the writer, the more profound, original, and well supported the ideas the writer produces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the wheel passes through space and time, it discards some ideas and develops new ones, as the writer and the discourse communities are in constant motion or processing. <o:p></o:p></a></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: WATwo1;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Writing, like knowledge and discourse communities themselves, can be complex, multi layered, and very diverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The writer himself does not have to become one-dimensional by limiting himself to only one discourse community in order to effectively be a contributing member of that community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section3"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Writing Response 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">As college professors and those who study linguistics attempt to improve writing curriculums to better prepare students for writing success both in the remainder of their academic pursuits, and in their future careers, they are attempting to define what a discourse community is, and if learning the discourse communities epistemology can enhance the student’s success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Writing about Writing</i>, a college reader prepared by Wardle and Downs, James Paul Gee and John Swales each present opposing view points as to what defines a discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree with the approach of Gee, and am compelled by his understanding of primary and secondary Discourses, however, I feel that cognitive ability should be considered when gauging speed of assimilation into a secondary Discourse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><a href="" name="WA3orange"></a><a href="" name="WAThree1"><span style="mso-bookmark: WA3orange;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Gee emphasizes the social practices of a discourse community, claiming it to be an “identity kit” that includes actions, language, literacy, and style, amongst other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gee states our identity kit also contains our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">primary Discourse</i>, (our introduction to the world and our identity) and our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">secondary Discourse</i>, (outside of the home based social institutions such as churches and schools.) Gee argues that the ease in which fluency is gained in any secondary Discourse is influenced greatly upon whether their primary Discourse community practiced similar “speaking, writing, doing, being, valuing, and believing” as the secondary Discourse. Gee goes on to say that you cannot embody a Discourse; the members of the community choose to either accept you as a member of the community or as an apprentice of the community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: WAThree1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: WA3orange;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Swales, on the other hand, takes no note of the social behaviors of a Discourse, but instead defines a discourse community by six defining characteristics: “common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community specific genres, a highly specialized terminology and a high level of expertise.” In stark contrast to Gee, Swales argues that it is possible for participation in a Discourse to occur <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">without</i> assimilation, citing professional journalist who assume temporary membership in a wide array of discourse communities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: WA3orange;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: WAThree1;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Gee makes a very compelling argument in his explanation of how our primary Discourse inflects the way we participate in our secondary Discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our primary Discourse is vastly different (in language, practice or lifestyle) from the secondary Discourse we are trying to learn, our assimilation will be infinitely more challenging. I have witnessed this difficulty firsthand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a foster parent, I have served children who have come to live in my home after many years of living within their primary Discourse, which was very different from mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family was to become one of their secondary Discourses (school being the other).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assimilation into the language, style, customs and behavior of my Discourse was very difficult for the children, even though they tried desperately to assimilate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the fields of sociology and psychology, this assimilation is known as socialization. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><a href="" name="WAThree2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">What Gee fails to point out, and what I feel is of upmost relevance, is where cognitive ability comes into play when determining the speed of which one can assimilate into a new Discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us consider again my former foster children, who came to me as a sibling group of four. Two of the children had very low IQ’s, one had an average IQ, and one had a higher than average IQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one with the higher IQ was able to assimilate the language and dialect and even the social customs of my family much faster than the others, followed shortly thereafter by the one with the average IQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cognitive ability also placed them at or above grade level in school, thereby exposing them to a similar secondary Discourse that embraced higher thinking, literacy, and a similar cultural environment to that of my home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two with lower IQ’s were in remedial school programs, which focused on basic skills. In this class, children with similar primary Discourses surrounded my foster children, thereby reinforcing the primary Discourse and making fluency in the secondary Discourse very difficult. While I by no means mean to suggest that this is concrete empirical evidence, I do think that it suggest exploration to determine if cognitive ability affects secondary Discourse assimilation is warranted. <o:p></o:p></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: WAThree2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Swales’ six defining characteristics of discourse communities are all warranted and valuable in distinguishing a discourse community from other seemingly similar communities such as a neighborhood or a speech community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Swales’ use of career journalist and spies infiltrating discourse communities as evidence to prove that membership in a discourse community can occur without assimilation is a bit far fetched and is of little relevance to assimilation by every day people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: WAThree2;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As most students attend school (primary, secondary or college) to obtain an education that will allow them to be productive, independent members of society, it is the responsibility of educators they employ to do all they can to teach students the necessary social, speaking, writing, and thinking skills required to do so. Ignoring flaws in social behavior, speech, grammar or levels of thinking due to differences in primary Discourses is unconscionable. This teaching should occur both inside and outside of English departments, and in geographical areas of vast socio-economic or cultural differences, possible courses in adaptability could be added that promote the cultural aspects of the students’ primary Discourses while helping them to assimilate into a secondary Discourse, as one can exist in multiple Discourses simultaneously if they so choose. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Gee and Swales each present interesting definitions and arguments, and both are valid, and could each be applied in various circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gee’s definitions of primary and secondary Discourse provide an almost developmental stage approach to Discourses, and fits well with other theorists conclusions on socialization amongst new groups or communities. However, both authors do not take the cognitive ability of the student into consideration, and while at times controversial, I feel this needs to be considered, specifically when gauging the speed of assimilation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section4"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Analysis of Social Work Media as Defined by Knowledge Domains. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Social work practice assists individuals, groups, and communities by enhancing or restoring their capacity for social function and creating societal conditions favorable to reach their goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social workers are employed in a variety of settings, including health care facilities, public welfare agencies, child welfare agencies, public and private schools, colleges and universities, and community organizations. Within the more specialized area of clinical social work practice lies a systematic process and activity that is designed to assess client situations and help clients achieve agreed upon goals in order to promote optimal health and well bring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The discourse community of practicing social workers is as diverse as the clients they aim to serve, however, the overarching goal of the group remains the enhancement of human well-being and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. (National Social Workers Code of Ethics.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are several categories of media a discourse community of social workers can examine to develop or evolve their own heuristic of practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples of these media types include journals such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Journal of Social Work</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Child and Adolescent Social Work</i>, which provide the community with scientific studies, articles, and information about upcoming conferences and presentations. Other medias include case studies, legal documents, court files and government memos, which provide the community with ongoing information and update knowledge bases and source information. According to Anne Beaufort, examining this media can provide an outsider with knowledge of the subject matter, genre, rhetorical methods and writing processes of a discourse community (18). Using a rhetorical method of analysis, one can extract Beaufort’s knowledge domains within the clinical social work discourse community by analyzing selected articles, studies, and case studies from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Center on Human Development and Disability</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine</i>. Analysis of these pieces points to a clearly defined rhetorical usage of American Psychological Association formatting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(APA) and a specialized lexis, a varied number of genres, and a diverse subject matter knowledge base including developmental psychology, substance abuse treatment, and governmental social welfare policy and programming. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="RADRAFT1">“The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” was published in 2010 in a journal entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i>. The piece presents the findings of a study completed by the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and uses a scientific method of research to determine that the presence of social workers in an emergency department is very cost effective for a hospital as it reduces the occurrence of admittance. The study is presented in APA format, which outlines the piece into clearly defined sections including Abstract, Background, Method, Sample, Results, Limitations, Discussion, and Reference sections.</a> The piece also includes tables to clearly illustrate findings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Factors that Influence Clinicians’ Assessment and Management of Family Violence” published in 1994 by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health, </i>also uses the APA format, but extends to include sections on Interventions and Mandated Reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This piece evaluates different professionals within the health services (dental hygienists, dentists, nurses, physicians, psychologists, and social workers) to assess which factors may contribute to their reporting (or lack of reporting) of suspected abuse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The APA format is frequently used in the social sciences, as it allows for precise details and leaves little room for conjecture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, further studies can build on works that use APA, as application of the same methodology creates a constant in what can appear to be an ever-changing field of practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to utilizing the APA format, the social work discourse community also employs a very similar lexicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, words that can have multiple meanings or implications are clearly defined so that there is no room for interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in the public health piece, abuse is defined as “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">physical maltreatment” (628) and is further divided into the categories of child abuse, spouse abuse and elder abuse. “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault,” published in 2011 in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine </i>also clearly defines the main terms of the work: sexual assault and rape. (835) This is done at the beginning of the piece, so there can be no confusion in the mind of the clinical practitioner. Defining terms comprehensively is of great importance in the social sciences, as there may be legal implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point, the piece on sexual assault clearly states the legal definitions of rape, body orifice, and incapacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rape is a legal term and in the United States refers to any penetration of a body orifice (mouth, vagina, or anus) involving force or the threat of force or incapacity (i.e. associated with young or old age, cognitive or physical disability, or drug or alcohol intoxication) and nonconsent.” (835) This very detailed definition of the terms provides the practitioner with information necessary to make a determination of whether to include law enforcement into the circle of patient care, and in what terms to explain to both the patient and the law enforcement what has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, all of the pieces examined use a lexicon that would be somewhat foreign to those outside of the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Words and phrases such as “supplemental security income”, “developmental disabilities”, “placement”, “environmental” and “coefficient” are just a few examples of words that take on a different meaning within the social sciences. Examining both this lexicon as well as the APA method of formatting allows one to make a reasonable attempt at understanding the rhetorical knowledge domain of the social work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Genre Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In addition to studies and articles published in journals (as mentioned above) the social work community regularly utilizes case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case studies are detailed analyses of an individual or family unit, which stresses developmental factors in relation to context. Social workers write and read case studies not as a method to determine causation or correlation, but as a method of providing a detailed and oftentimes ongoing record of events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case study of John, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> the social worker interviewed John’s mother and summarizes all of what she had to say about John in the defined categories of Home, Life, School and Concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The social worker then uses the ecosystem perspective (another social work lexicon) to look at how individual, family, and larger environmental structures affect John and his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the social worker lists interventions that are needed at each level to improve family functioning. This mode of genre is extremely useful to social work discourse community for several reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Firstly, as social workers oftentimes do not see their clients more than on a monthly basis, the ongoing case study provides a summary of previous events, which can refresh the memory of the worker in regards to the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, the case study provides the worker with a list of all of the services that have been recommended for the client, and can be used in subsequent visits as a checklist to see what services have been utilized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the case study provides those new to the case (other social workers, psychologist, medical professionals, adoptive parents, attorneys or judges) with a detailed recorded history of prior events in the life of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case study genre is particularly interesting in that it employs a specialized style of writing that completely eliminates the writer of the document (the social worker) from the personalized case of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies are never written in the first person, but rather in the third person omniscient point of view, which </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">takes a panoramic, bird’s eye view of the clients, and in describing the overall picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding case studies, and studies and articles published in journals is one way to grasp the genre knowledge of the social work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Subject Matter Knowledge</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The social work discourse community is very diverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As mentioned above, social workers practice </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">in a variety of settings, including health care facilities, public welfare agencies, child welfare agencies, public and private schools, colleges and universities, and community organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While each of these practices can be specialized, a broad base of general knowledge of a wide variety of subjects is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These subjects include substance abuse diagnosis and treatment, mental health diagnosis and treatment, developmental health and psychology, and state and federal policies on welfare, foster care, adoption and elder care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon analyzing the four pieces used for this analysis, it is clear that a broad knowledge base is in action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case study of John, the social worker recommends application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) by the client, as well as enrollment in the Division of Developmental Disabilities, Medicaid, and the Medicaid Personal Care Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these are government programs that have very specific criteria for application and enrollment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault,” it is made clear that the social worker is expected to know emergency room protocol, the steps in a sample evidence-collection kit and established trauma protocol (836). “The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” makes frequent mention of the social workers ability to assess whether a patient is in a serious psychological state of crisis and therefore in need of medical care, or if the patient is in need of at home or community based services and is interpreting that as a need for hospitalization (316). Each of these works illustrates a sample of the base of subject matter knowledge held within the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing Process Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to the three mentioned domains of knowledge Beaufort suggests for the understanding of a discourse community (rhetorical structure, genre, and content knowledge), the knowledge domain of writing process is also included.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As this paper was conducted via research and not personal interview, it is impossible to deduce the writing process knowledge of each of the authors of the above-mentioned case study, journal article, and journal studies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the analyzed texts, one can deduce the overall goals of the social work discourse community, which, as Beaufort states, is the primary objective. Analysis of these pieces shows a clearly defined rhetorical usage of American Psychological Association formatting and a specialized lexis, a varied number of genres, and a diverse subject matter knowledge base. All of these are surrounded by the overarching goals of enhancing human well-being and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section5"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Analysis of Social Work Media as Defined by Knowledge Domains. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Social work practice assists individuals, groups, and communities by enhancing or restoring their capacity for social function and creating societal conditions favorable to reach their goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social workers are employed in a variety of settings, including health care facilities, public welfare agencies, child welfare agencies, public and private schools, colleges and universities, and community organizations. Within the more specialized area of clinical social work practice lies a systematic process and activity that is designed to assess client situations and help clients achieve agreed upon goals in order to promote optimal health and well bring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The discourse community of practicing social workers is as diverse as the clients they aim to serve, however, the overarching goal of the group is enhancing human well-being and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty (National Social Workers Code of Ethics).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are genre categories <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that a discourse community of social workers can examine to develop or evolve their own heuristic for understanding writing practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples of these media types include journals such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Journal of Social Work</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Child and Adolescent Social Work</i>, which provide the community with scientific studies, articles, and information about upcoming conferences and presentations. Other media include case studies, legal documents, court files and government memos, which provide the community with ongoing information and update knowledge bases and source information. According to Anne Beaufort, examining these genres can provide an outsider with knowledge of the subject matter, genre, rhetorical methods and writing processes of a discourse community (18). Using a rhetorical method of analysis, one can extract Beaufort’s knowledge domains within the clinical social work discourse community by analyzing selected articles, studies, and case studies from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Center on Human Development and Disability</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine</i>. Analysis of these pieces points to a clearly defined rhetorical usage of American Psychological Association formatting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(APA) and a specialized lexis, a varied number of genres, and a diverse subject matter knowledge base including developmental psychology, substance abuse treatment, and governmental social welfare policy and programming. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="RAFinal3">Beaufort states that writers must address “the specific, immediate rhetorical situation of individual communicative acts…considering the specific audience and purpose for a particular text and how best to communicate rhetorically in that instance” (20). By examining details such as who the author is directing his work towards, the style and formatting of the work, and even the lexis the author has chosen, we can learn a great deal about what Beaufort calls the “social context, material conditions, timing and social relationships” (20) within a discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This detailed examination will lead to obtaining greater rhetorical knowledge of a specific discourse community, which in this case, is social work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, “The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” was published in 2010 in a journal entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care</i> and presents the findings of a study completed by the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University using a scientific method of research to determine that the presence of social workers in an emergency department is very cost effective for a hospital as it reduces the occurrence of admittance. The study is presented in APA format, which outlines the piece into clearly defined sections including Abstract, Background, Method, Sample, Results, Limitations, Discussion, and Reference sections. </a>The piece also includes tables to clearly illustrate findings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Factors that Influence Clinicians’ Assessment and Management of Family Violence” published in 1994 by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health, </i>also uses the APA format, but extends to include sections on Interventions and Mandated Reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This piece evaluates different professionals within the health services (dental hygienists, dentists, nurses, physicians, psychologists, and social workers) to assess which factors may contribute to their reporting (or lack of reporting) of suspected abuse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The APA format is frequently used in the social sciences, as it allows for precise details and leaves little room for conjecture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, further studies can build on works that use APA, as application of the same methodology creates a constant in what can appear to be an ever-changing field of practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to utilizing the APA format, the social work discourse community also employs a very similar lexicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, <a href="" name="RAFINAL1">words that can have multiple meanings or implications are clearly defined so that there is no room for interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in the public health piece, abuse is defined as “</a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFINAL1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">physical maltreatment” (628) and is further divided into the categories of child abuse, spouse abuse and elder abuse. “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault,” published in 2011 in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine </i>also clearly defines the main terms of the work: sexual assault and rape (835). This is done at the beginning of the piece, so there can be no confusion in the mind of the clinical practitioner. Defining terms comprehensively is of great importance in the social sciences, as there may be legal implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point, the piece on sexual assault clearly states the legal definitions of rape, body orifice, and incapacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rape is a legal term and in the United States refers to any penetration of a body orifice (mouth, vagina, or anus) involving force or the threat of force or incapacity (i.e. associated with young or old age, cognitive or physical disability, or drug or alcohol intoxication) and nonconsent” (835). This very detailed definition of the terms provides the practitioner with information necessary to make a determination of whether to include law enforcement into the circle of patient care, and in what terms to explain to both the patient and the law enforcement what has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, all of the pieces examined use a lexicon that would be somewhat foreign to those outside of the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Words and phrases such as “supplemental security income”, “developmental disabilities”, “placement”, “environmental” and “coefficient” are just a few examples of words that take on a different meaning within social work practice. Examining both this lexicon as well as the APA method of formatting allows one to make a reasonable attempt at understanding the rhetorical knowledge domain of the social work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFINAL1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">As a novice in the social work discourse community, it is difficult to assess all of the knowledge that a rhetorical situation can provide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, it is unclear exactly who the anticipated audience is, specifically in the piece published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This piece could easily be read and put into practice by clinical social workers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical responders and police officers, all of which represent vastly different discourse communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further study in the field of social work is required in order to understand audience and context in a more concrete way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFINAL1;"></span> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Genre Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In addition to studies and articles published in journals (as mentioned above) the social work community regularly utilizes case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="" name="RAFinal2">Case studies are detailed analyses of an individual or family unit, which stresses developmental factors in relation to context. Social workers write and read case studies not as a method to determine causation or correlation, but as a method of providing a detailed and oftentimes ongoing record of events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case study of John, </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFinal2;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFinal2;"> the social worker interviewed John’s mother and summarizes all of what she had to say about John in the defined categories of Home, Life, School and Concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The social worker then uses the ecosystem perspective (another term in the social work lexicon) to look at how individual, family, and larger environmental structures affect John and his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the social worker lists interventions that are needed at each level to improve family functioning. This mode of genre is extremely useful to social work discourse community for several reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>, as social workers oftentimes do not see their clients more than on a monthly basis, the ongoing case study provides a summary of previous events, which can refresh the memory of the worker in regards to the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, the case study provides the worker with a list of all of the services that have been recommended for the client, and can be used in subsequent visits as a checklist to see what services have been utilized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, the case study provides those new to the case (other social workers, psychologist, medical professionals, adoptive parents, attorneys or judges) with a detailed recorded history of prior events in the life of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case study genre is particularly interesting in that it employs a specialized style of writing that completely eliminates the writer of the document (the social worker) from the personalized case of the client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies are never written in the first person, but rather in the third person omniscient point of view, which </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFinal2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">takes a panoramic, bird’s eye view of the clients, and in describing the overall picture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFinal2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Published articles and journal studies have a very different purpose than the above- mentioned case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Articles are often used to inform social workers about new applications of methods of therapy. Articles also provide the discourse community with updates as to the political and governmental changes that effect case reporting, qualifications for funding, and acceptance into welfare programs and treatment facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “Care of the Adult Patient After Sexual Assault,” the author provides both novices and experts with new information in regards to emergency department protocol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal studies usually report the findings of studies done either directly on clients, or by studying an accumulation of case studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These studies usually report on how well or poorly a new law, change or governmental policy or program is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The media and the government (especially in times of political elections or social unrest), oftentimes quote these studies. Understanding case studies, and studies and articles published in journals is one way to grasp the genre knowledge of the social work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
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</div><span style="mso-bookmark: RAFinal2;"></span> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Subject Matter Knowledge</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The social work discourse community is very diverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As mentioned above, social workers practice </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">in a variety of settings, including health care facilities, public welfare agencies, child welfare agencies, public and private schools, colleges and universities, and community organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While each of these practices can be specialized, a broad base of general knowledge of a wide variety of subjects is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These subjects include substance abuse diagnosis and treatment, mental health diagnosis and treatment, developmental health and psychology, and state and federal policies on welfare, foster care, adoption and elder care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon analyzing the four pieces used for this analysis, it is clear that a broad knowledge base is in action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case study of John, the social worker recommends application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) by the client, as well as enrollment in the Division of Developmental Disabilities, Medicaid, and the Medicaid Personal Care Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these are government programs that have very specific criteria for application and enrollment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault,” it is made clear that the social worker is expected to know emergency room protocol, the steps in a sample evidence-collection kit and established trauma protocol (836). “The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” makes frequent mention of the social workers ability to assess whether a patient is in a serious psychological state of crisis and therefore in need of medial care, or if the patient is in need of at home or community based services and is interpreting that as a need for hospitalization (316). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of these works illustrates a sample of the base of subject matter knowledge held within the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing Process Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to the three mentioned domains of knowledge Beaufort suggests for the understanding of a discourse community (rhetorical structure, genre, and content knowledge), the knowledge domain of writing process is also included.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As this paper was conducted via research and not personal interview, it is impossible to deduce the writing process knowledge of each of the authors of the above-mentioned case study, journal article, and journal studies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the analyzed texts, one can deduce the overall goals of the social work discourse community, which, as Beaufort states, is the primary objective. Analysis of these pieces shows a clearly defined rhetorical usage of American Psychological Association formatting and a specialized lexis, a varied number of genres, and a diverse subject matter knowledge base. All of these are surrounded by the overarching goals of enhancing human well-being and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Works Cited<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Auerbac, PhD., Charles, and Susan E. Mason, PhD. "The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments." <i>Social Work in Health Care</i>. 49.4 (2010): 314-326. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Beaufort, Anne. <i>College Writing and Beyond</i>. 1st ed. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007. 18-21.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">"Clinical Social Work." <i>Center on Human Development and Disability</i>. Clinical training Unit, University of Washington, 19 Jul 2007. Web. 9 Oct 2011. <http://depts.washington.edu/lend/seminars/modules/socialwork/clinical.htm>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Clinicians' Assessment and Management of Family Violence." <i>American Journal of Public Health</i>. 84.4 (1994): 628-633. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Linden, M.D., Judith A. "Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault." <i>New England Journal of Medicine</i>. 365. (2011): 834-841. Print<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">"National Social Workers Code of Ethics." <i>National Association of Social Workers</i>. National Association of Social Workers, 5 Jul 2011. Web. 9 Oct 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section6"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="" name="INT1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interview with Lisa Kopacka<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: INT1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interview on October 16, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: INT1;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Questions are in BOLD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Answers are in Italics. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Coding is in Green.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What made you choose medical care social work over child welfare and adoption social work?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I always knew I was more interested in the medical side of social work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I worked in a hospital for a few years, I realized that unless I had Psych and substance abuse training I would never do any more than Discharge planning, which is a minimum wage job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">SW DC Knowledge, Psych DC Knowledge, Substance Abuse. Discharge Planning. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please describe some of the things you do during a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>typical day at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I assess all of the patients who come into the ED and decide if they are in need of psychiatric treatment or care. I speak to the insurance companies to obtain approval codes or inpatient services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do rounds on the PW and help the staff there with some of their discharge planning. I also see patients in the medical units that are in need of psychiatric care but have not yet been medically cleared to the PW. I also work at the Moross location, but I only do Behavioral Psych intake there. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">ED. Insurance Companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psych DC Knowledge. PW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discharge planning. Medically Cleared. Behavioral Psych Intake.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How much of your day is spent in actual one on one care of clients?</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">70%. The rest is spent on the phone with the insurance companies, other mental health facilities, with the other Social Psychologist on the PW.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Insurance Companies. Mental Health Facilities. Social Psychologist. PW.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How much of your day is spent writing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I fill out the charts and forms as I talk with each consumer, so I do not have a lot of writing to do after I see them. We are not on a computer system yet like other hospitals in the St. John network, (Like Moross) and I am actually glad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think they spend a lot more time doing data entry there. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data Entry <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What types of writing do you participate in? (i.e. case reports, forms, etc.) <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">All of the writing that I do is on pre-printed forms that exactly outline the information I need to collect, and the information I need to chart and the information I need to obtain codes from the Insurance Companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Codes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insurance Companies. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is there a particular format or writing style that is used in your practice? When or where did you learn this writing style? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My writing style is directly from the DSM IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">DSM IV<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you read any journals or other publications that relate to your career, such as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New England Journal of Medicine</i> or Other Social Work journals?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I have time, I read the New England Journal and the APA Journal. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">New England Journal of Med.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>APA Journal. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are there other published materials that are helpful to your practice? If so, can you please name some of them?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I really do not have a lot of free time, so no, not very often. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you see the themes of these publications in action in the workplace?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes, mostly with Substance Abuse related articles. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Substance Abuse<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">At what point in your practice did you feel a true member of the social work community. (Which I will refer to as your discourse community.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am not familiar with the term discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt like a social worker from day one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will see when you complete your practicums, you are practicing from the minute you hit the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are far too many people to serve and far too few of us to help. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">SW DC Knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Practicum. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can you please tell me about your transition from novice to expert? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I guess when I completed my MSW I became and “expert” but I really felt more on board in the ED when I finished my Masters in Psych. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">SW DC Knowledge, Psych DC Knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does your Discourse Community of social Workers interrelate with the Discourse Community of Nurses and the Discourse Community of Doctors? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am not going to lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is really hard sometimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physicians do not want to deal with my patients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They practically run from them the minute they are medically cleared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurses in the ED are the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They despise the psych patients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They almost see it like the people who come into the ED with the common cold. I am oftentimes the lone advocate for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, we all work so many hours together we are kind of like a family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you work five straight Christmas’ with the same team of docs and nurses, you do start to care about each other. I guess its like any other office or job, you like some of them and you do not like some of them. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">SW DC Knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medical Clearance. Team of Doc and Nurses.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does your writing practice differ from that of the nurses or doctors that you work with?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The nurses also use many forms, but they do not make diagnosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physicians do not use as many forms, they just record directly on the charts. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diagnosis. Charts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Docs & Nurses. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you think that WSU adequately prepared you for the writing that you have to do in your career? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, absolutely<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you have any advice for me that will help me transition from a student to a practicing medical social worker? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pick a good place to do your internships/practicum’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do not like your supervisor, put a request in for a change immediately, do not try to stick it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to be with someone who will teach you the ropes, not expect you to do all of their work. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Internship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Practicum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span></b> <div class="Section7"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Observation Field Notes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Observation Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> October 19, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="" name="OBS1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Observation Time:</span></b></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OBS1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: OBS1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Observation Location</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OBS1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">: St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Madison Heights, MI<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="mso-bookmark: OBS1;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The day was spent shadowing Ms. Lisa Kopacka, a Behavioral Intake Specialist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">All Notes of Observation are in BLACK. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman";">All Coding is in Green. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arrival in ED- front security gave name and showed WSU ID card to security. Observed that there were no patients in the ED waiting room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, outpatient surgery waiting room across the hall was jammed packed. Security guard went and got Lisa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Waiting Room</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa showed me where to hang my coat, and gave me a quick tour of the ED- The triage area, the center nurses workstation, and the beds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">ED Practices</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><a href="" name="OBS2"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa explained to me that her job is to evaluate all patients that have a possible psych issue after the attending physician has medically cleared them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note- medically cleared means that there is no reason medically for the patient to be admitted to the hospital other than for possible psychiatric treatment. Lisa uses the GAF Index (Global Assessment of Functioning) in addition to any prior records she has on the patient to determine course of treatment. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Lexicon, Genre, Psych DC Knowledge, </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></div><span style="mso-bookmark: OBS2;"></span> <div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psychiatric Floor is referred to as PW. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Lexicon</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We will do rounds on PW later in the day. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Lexicon</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sadly, course of treatment Lisa decides for a patient oftentimes correlates with the number of available beds on the PW, or what the consumers insurance will allow for. If insurance company denies inpatient care, Lisa can still admit, but the hospital may end up being responsible for the cost of the care, and they keep track of how many times that happens via Lisa. If she has too many, she could be fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, at the same time, it a patient kills or harms themselves or another person after Lisa denies them inpatient treatment, Lisa and the hospital could face a lawsuit, which is also costly, not to mention the ethical issues at hand. <span style="color: #4f6228;">SW DC Knowledge, Psych DC Knowledge, ED practices</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Course of treatment options include (but are no limited to): </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Partial Hospitalization with or without transportation, or treatment for dual diagnosis (Psychiatric-Substance abuse). <span style="color: #4f6228;">Psych DC Knowledge, Lexicon, </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patients are referred to by the Social Workers, Insurance companies and PW caregivers as “consumers.” <span style="color: #4f6228;">SW DC Knowledge, Psych DC knowledge, </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Received explanation of charting system, and how to read the screens in the workstation. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Ed practices</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consumer 1ED arrived to the ED via police car from an adult foster care facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Male. Age 46.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Highly agitated and angry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Missing many teeth. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unkempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pupils constricted. Waving his hands in the air at unseen objects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Physician unable to clear medically due to his violent behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer sedated and placed in ED room that has a door to close (instead of just a curtain) and has one way glass so that consumer can be observed from workstation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Approx. 30 min later Consumer was medically cleared by attending physician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Agitated, hallucinations. Violent. Sedatives. ED Practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medical Clearance. Psych DC Knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">While waiting for medical clearance, Lisa printed out and went over in detail the five forms she uses on a daily basis. Copy of each form was given to me to take home. *Ask about Axis levels. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Axis levels. Forms. Psych DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Was told to return to Consumer 1ED and use the psychiatric assessment form (PAF) as a guide to question and to evaluate the patient. (Lisa would observe)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returned to patient, who although sedated was still very agitated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patient spit on me during questioning. The nurse and I worked together to restrain the patient, who was somewhat willing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer described the demons that were living with him, and flying around his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was able to provide medical history, today’s date, the name of the president, and the name of the facility where he was living, which agreed with the report of the police officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A sitter is ordered to keep watch on the patient. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Lexicon. Sitter. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">PAF. Restrain. Sedated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spit. Demons. Psych DC Knowledge, Police.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Returned to work station and called adult foster home where Consumer 1ED had been transported from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer had not been given his medications for three consecutive days, as there had been difficulty obtaining the meds form the pharmacy. Home had previously arranged transportation for the Consumer to a different residential facility, which was supposed to have occurred later in that day, however the a.m. shift had decided the consumer was a danger and had called the police to transport him to this ED. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Adult Foster Care, transportation, Police, Residential facility. Medication withdrawal. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Medication was ordered and given to Consumer1ED. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Medication</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Returned to work station and called the residential facility that patient was supposed to transfer to later in that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Left message, as supervisor was unavailable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">SW DC Knowledge, Residential Facility</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rec. Page from day program that Consumer 2ED was struggling with withdrawal symptoms and may need to admit thru ED. Lisa advised transport to ED triage. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Day Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ED Practices, </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sat in on phone call between Lisa and Insurance Company of Consumer 1ED. Insurance Company denied inpatient or day patient treatment. Lisa decided to hold Consumer 1ED for a 4 hour observation. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Insurance Companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer Observation</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sat at workstation and reviewed Lisa’s PAF of Consumer 1ED, while looking up in the DSM IV the criteria of multi-level (Axis) Diagnosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis 1: </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Schizophrenic</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Cannabis Abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis II: unknown. Axis III: Diabetes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis IV: poverty, homeless, divorced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis V: GAF score on arrival: 13.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">PAF, DSM IV, Axis I, III, IV, V.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schizophrenic, Cannabis, Diabetes, Poverty, Homeless, Divorced. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: 11:30a.m. and monitor shows 11 beds in ED filled. I have no idea how many are in the waiting room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">ED Waiting Room</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Triage nurse calls Lisa and informs her that Consumer 2ED was in room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa informs attending as to Consumer’s prior records, calling the consumer a “Frequent Flier”. Attending orders labs to be drawn on Consumer 2ED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Frequent Flier Lexicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lab Work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa takes me to the PW, where I am given a tour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Unit has 26 beds, for adult use only.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The unit is served by 1 Psychiatrist, who completes rounds in the early a.m. (7 a.m. or earlier) Lisa reviews his notes from rounds, and notes on charts any comments she has from that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am introduced to the three Social Workers and One Behavioral Social-Psychologist who provides clinical individual and group therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The unit currently has two empty beds, neither of which is available, as both are in rooms with Consumers who are a danger to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">PW, Rounds, SW DC Knowledge, Behavioral Social Psychologist, Psych DC Knowledge, Therapy. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I speak with one of the Social Workers for about 3o min.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She informs me that she works all day trying to arrange discharge care for the consumers in the PW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This includes countless conversations with family members, primary care physicians, and insurance companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She dislikes her job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">SW DC Knowledge. Discharge Care.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa shows me how this unit consumer rooms have no mirrors, no needles, no televisions, no phones, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visiting hours are limited to 2 hours, twice a week. The consumers wander the halls and sit in a community area, where a television is located.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Psych DC Knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PW Practices.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I met Consumer 1PW in the hallway, after being introduced by Lisa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Female, age 29, white, wearing hospital gown (some consumers were dressed in street clothing.) Affect was very flat. Repeated same sentences several times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asked me repeatedly when I could drive her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frequent Flier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dual Diagnosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I: Major Depressive Disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cocaine Abuse. Axis II: Learning Disability. Axis III:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HIV Positive. Axis IV: Two children removed from home. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Flat Affect. Repeating Speech. Dual Diagnosis. Axis I, II, III, IV. Depressive Disorder Cocaine Abuse, Learning Disability, Loss of Children, HIV Positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frequent Flier. Psych DC Knowledge.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Met Consumer 2PW in community area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Age 62.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wearing hospital gown with cardigan sweater. Would not speak with me or look in our direction at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I: </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Schizophrenic Axis II: Antisocial Axis IV: homeless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Schizophrenic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antisocial. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I,II, IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psych DC Knowledge. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Met consumer 3PW in community area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Female. Age 38. Wearing street clothing but hair clearly not washed in days maybe weeks. Seemed overly excited to see Lisa and I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asked if I was the new therapist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asked me to evaluate her so that maybe she could go home. Eyes darted from person to person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overly anxious. Axis I: Bipolar Disorder. Axis III: Victim of incestuous rape. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Axis I, III.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anxious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unkempt. Therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Incest. Rape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psych DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Met Consumer 4PW in his room. Lisa was checking on him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flat affect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Restrained in bed. Sedated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pupils completely dilated. Axis I: Major Depressive Disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis II: </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Schizotypal personality disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis V: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">GAF score of three on arrival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Threat to self and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Axis I, II, V.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Major Depressive disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Met several other consumers, only in passing and Lisa did not inform me of their axis diagnosis. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Axis</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ate lunch in cafeteria, which was rushed, as Lisa felt we had already been away from the ED for too long, and I met several nurses. Lisa explained to me the scrub system…. Different colors mean different positions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa and the doctors wear street clothing and lab coats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All others wear scrubs. Residents are called greenies because they wear green scrubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scrubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hospital Practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">While in the cafeteria, Lisa rec. a call on her portable phone from the Residential facility that Consumer 1ED was to be released to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa approved of transportation and transfer. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Portable Phone, Residential Facility, transportation, Transfer. SW DC knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Returned to Ed and met the Chief of the ED who was polite, at best. He criticized Lisa immediately because Consumer 2ED had a red light blinking by his name, meaning he had been medically cleared for 25 minutes, but no orders and been given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa checked with the nurses and labs were not yet back on Consumer 2ED. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Red Light, ED Practices, Nurses, Labs, Medical Clearance. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa instructed me to check in on Consumer 1ED and to inform him of his transfer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer 1ED was conscious and easy to talk with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His medication seemed to be working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got him a sandwich and some juice from the service area. He apologized for spitting on me. I was surprised he could remember doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Transfer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spit. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lisa received a phone call from ambulance driver. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ETA with Consumer 3ED in 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consumer 3ED was nude and walking along Dequinder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Motorist reported via cell phone and police and EMT responded. Consumer 3ED was disorientated, confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blood pressure was slightly low but with acceptable range. Identity of Consumer 3ED was unknown, as no ID was located.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Ambulance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disoriented. Confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Identity unknown. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Labs returned for Consumer 2ED showed recent cannabis usage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Observed Lisa as she questioned and filled out PAF for Consumer 2ED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa was brief and brisk with this consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew him and had previously treated him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa reminded him that any misuse of the day treatment program would result in termination of the program, and that possible re-admittance could not take place for at least 365 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa determined discharge back to the Day program was the course of treatment. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Labs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cannabis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PAF.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Day Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psych DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consumer 3ED arrived and was placed directly into trauma/crisis room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vitals all look good, body temp low but within in range. Consumer 3ED gives us his name and age however cannot remember the morning, the date, his address, his birth date, or how he lost his clothing and arrived on Dequinder Rd. Patient is not violent, but clearly confused. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Urine and blood samples are obtained and sent to the lab.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Trauma/Crisis, Labs. Confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psych DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">3:25 and I was supposed to be done at 2!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa informed me that I should wait for the transportation for Consumer 1ED to arrive, so that I could fill out and complete discharge planning paperwork. <span style="color: #4f6228;">Transportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discharge Planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SW DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4:52 transportation arrives for Consumer 1ED to his new residential facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discharge forms are completed and the patient signs release forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Release Forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discharge Forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Residential Facility, SW DC Knowledge. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Labs return normal for Consumer 3ED and he is medically cleared for Psych intake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa evaluates Consumer 3ED using the PAF, however very little information is obtained, as Consumer 3ED cannot seem to remember much, and falls asleep during questioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa decides to hold him in the ED for a 12-hour observation period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;">Medical Clearance, PAF, 12 hour Observation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">5:15 I thank Lisa, and Leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section8"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Data Collection Report<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Report of Proceedings</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Interview: October 16, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Observation: October 19, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">St. John Macomb- Oakland Hospital <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">27351 Dequindre<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Madison Heights, Michigan 48071 <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">248-967-7480</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.0 Executive Summary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This report contains data collected from an interview and seven hours of observing a practicing Behavioral Social-Psychologist working in both an emergency and in-patient hospital setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of the interview and observation was to gain insight and further knowledge of the writing and literacy practices of the Medical Social Work Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The interview portion of this report was held in a small quiet coffee shop in Grosse Pointe with Ms. Lisa Kopacka, a licensed Clinical Psychologist who has Masters Degrees in both Social Work and Psychology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Kopaca (here-on referred to as Lisa) works for St. John Hospital, at both the Macomb-Oakland location and the Moross location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Oakland location, Lisa splits her time between three different jobs. Her primary responsibility is to see patients in the Emergency Department (ED) and determine if the patient (or consumer as they are called within the department) is in need of in-patient psychiatric treatment, partial-day treatment, or if they should be released from the ED with recommendation to seek treatment elsewhere. Lisa’s second and third responsibilities are to make rounds on the medical floors of the hospital to check on patients who are in need of psychiatric care but are not medically cleared to be in the psychiatric floor, and to remain in constant communication with the Social-Psychologist on the Psychiatric floor to see how many beds are available and the status of the patients admitted there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Moross location, Lisa only works in the ED setting, performing the same job as she does at the Oakland location. The interview consisted of 1.5 hours of Lisa answering questions asked about her education, her career path, and lastly about her writing and literacy practices on the job. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The observation portion of this report was conducted at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights, Michigan, in the Emergency Department and on the Psychiatric Floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Emergency Department is a twenty- two- bed facility and offers emergency psychiatric assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Psychiatric Ward (PW) is a twenty-six bed floor, and offers in-patient adult Psychiatric treatment as well as both in-patient and outpatient Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). I was able to both observe and practice in both the ED and the PW over a nine-hour consecutive period, seeing six consumers in the ED and walking rounds on the PW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clearly, a person working in Lisa’s position must have knowledge of both the Psychology and Social Worker’s Discourse Communities. Since Discourse Community knowledge encompasses the other four knowledge domains of Writing Processes, Subject Matter, Genre, and Rhetoric<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>, does that imply that all Medical Social Workers must be completely adept in both communities, or is a broad knowledge base in both adequate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.0 Analysis<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><a href="" name="DCR1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using Beaufort’s five knowledge domains of Writing Process Knowledge, Subject Matter Knowledge, Genre Knowledge, Rhetorical Knowledge and the all encompassing Discourse Community Knowledge as a framework, an analysis of both the interview and observation sessions can be made. In doing so, the key recurring themes of brief standardized writing and communication practice and a deep knowledge base of both Psychology and Social Work have emerged.</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Writing process knowledge, i.e. “knowledge of the ways in which one proceeds through the writing tasks in its various phases” (Beaufort page number) was very difficult to ascertain during the interview process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interviewee, Lisa, has been practicing in an expert level role for so long, that she had a difficult time vocalizing and expressing her writing process phases. According to Lisa,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“all of the writing that I do is within the context of pre-established forms.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There appears to be no editing or reviewing process for Lisa: she self-corrects and modifies her writing as she goes, or as more information becomes available from the consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I would say that the writing style used in my practice is taken directly from the DSM IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), although that doesn’t always line up with the ICD-10 (the International Statistical Classification of Diseases-10), which is what the Docs use.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time of the interview, this explanation was unclear, but the observation session shed much more light on the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="DCR2">During the observation session, six patients were admitted to the ED, medically cleared by the medical doctor (meaning their only medial condition appeared to be psychiatric or substance abuse in nature), and turned over to the care of Lisa for an intake behavioral assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa followed the BAI (Behavioral Assessment Intake Form) as a guide for questioning each patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This form included questions ranging from prior hospitalizations and health history, to sharing thoughts of suicide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon completion of this form (which is computerized at some hospitals, but not at the Oakland location), Lisa would score (or code) the form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This score, combined with her with her own notes, would result in a final conclusion of Axis I, Axis II, Axis III, Axis IV and Axis V diagnosis, as well as a GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning Score).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I </a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">is the top-level diagnosis that usually represents the acute symptoms that need treatment; Axis 1 diagnoses are the most familiar and widely recognized (e.g., major depressive episode, schizophrenic episode, panic attack). Axis I terms are classified according to </span></span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/DSM_IV/jsp/DSM_VCodes.jsp"><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">V-codes</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> by the medical industry (primarily for billing and insurance purposes).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Axis was very important, and the most evident in my observation, as the insurance companies of the patients who required in-patient care demanded this Axis of information before the patient could be admitted. <b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Axis II is for </span></span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/mental.jsp"><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">personality disorders</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> and developmental disorders such as </span></span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/menret.jsp"><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">mental retardation</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">.<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"> Axis II disorders, if present, are likely to influence Axis I problems. For example, a student with a learning disability may become extremely stressed by school and suffer a panic attack (an Axis I diagnosis).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis III is for medical or neurological conditions that may influence a psychiatric problem. For example, diabetes might cause extreme fatigue, which may lead to a depressive episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis IV identifies recent psychosocial stressors such as a death of a loved one, divorce, losing a job, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis V identifies the patient's level of function on a scale of 0-100, (100 is top-level functioning), which was abovementioned as the GAF score. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: DCR2;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In her writing processes, Lisa worked within the framework of the DSM IV and the Five Axis system in a methodical, standardized, almost robotic way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the rushed and often hectic pace of the ED, and given that Lisa’s primary responsibility was to diagnose and assign consumers and not to provide clinical therapy, her writing process must be drawn from a combination of concrete diagnostic knowledge and a very standardized method for communicating that knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Similarly, Rhetorical Knowledge expressed in the interview format was very vague and difficult to process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked about establishing logos, pathos and ethos, Lisa once again referred to the DSM IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appears that all credibility on her part would be lost if she varied from this standardized heuristic of diagnosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It became obvious throughout the interview that there was a specific lexicon used among the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terms that were unfamiliar included “consumer” in place of “patient”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“intake” in place of “admit”, and most surprising “Social-Psychologist” in place of “Medical Social Worker.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This new lexicon continued in the observation session, both in the ED as well as on the PW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cases, this slang terms such as “frequent flier” for patients who returned on a very frequent basis, “greenie” for the Residents (because of the color of scrubs they wear), and “sitters” who are minimum wage hospital employees hired to sit or guard a patient that may be a danger or physical threat to other patients or personnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also noticeable were many unfamiliar terms that appeared to be not medically related, but rather slang for other everyday tasks or items, exchanged between the Doctors, Nurses, Lisa and the Residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This private language may be used so that the patients, who are in curtained off areas surrounding the ED center station, do not fully understand what the staff is saying to one another. This would be in keeping with the practice of social awareness and of attempting to protect the patient and their dignity in all circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The afore mentioned forms and writing practice methods are also helpful in establishing the preferred writing genre of an ED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is oftentimes little opportunity for extended lengths of time to be spent with each patient, especially if the situation if life-threatening or highly traumatic, and the clear cut, easy to read format of consistent preprinted forms makes for fast skimming of important to see facts and information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, one of the patients, Henry <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn5" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>, a “frequent flier” arrived at the ED in a state of extreme agitation and confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry was hearing demons talking to him and seeing illusions of those demons in front of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was aggressive, spitting, and had to be restrained in his bed and a “sitter” had to be called in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick scan of the BAI forms from his visit the previous month indicated his Axis I Diagnosis of </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">schizophrenia, complicated by Axis III Psycho-Social conditions of alcoholism, and homelessness. Because of this information, it took Lisa only a few seconds to determine Henry’s condition, rather than the minutes it would have taken to read another format, such as a case report. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This “quick and fast” genre of writing was also obvious in the speech patterns observed between Lisa, the insurance companies, and other facilities she spoke with during the course of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no social niceties exchanged during these conversations, but rather brief and hurried code numbers and names for diagnosis, and treatment suggestions such as in or outpatient services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Lastly, the breadth of Lisa’s Subject Matter domain of knowledge was easily processed in both the interview and observation settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The beginning of the interview was spent answering my questions that were primarily centered around the interviewers understanding of medical social work, which included many questions about education, the differences between the ED and in-patient floors, and the amount of time spent on discharge planning. It became very clear within thirty minutes of the interview process that Lisa’s subject matter knowledge domain reached far beyond that of Clinical Social Work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“While I obtained my Masters of Social Work, many of the skills I use on a daily basis draw mainly from my Masters of Clinical Psychology”, Lisa stated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She continued, “My social work skills help me understand where the patients are coming from and the life they are probably going to be discharged back to. My social work skills also help me a lot in understanding and quickly seeing signs of substance abuse and physical abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Psych skills allow me to converse with the Doctors and see what the underlying physiological illness of the consumers are.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">A full understanding of both the Clinical Psychology and Social Work Discourse communities was also evident in observing Lisa in practice in the PW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing rounds on the PW, Lisa discussed with the consumers (and in some cases their families) their discharge plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would help them to remember to take their daily medications? Where would outpatient treatment take place? How would transportation be arranged to this therapy? These concerns are all in the role of a social worker, however, knowledge of the underling causes for the treatment, such as Depression, bi-Polar disorder etc was also necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">It is important to note the similarities between Lisa’s communication style in the interview, and her professional communication style in the ED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa spoke in the same manner in both settings, forgetting perhaps the novice level of the interviewer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was much easier to decipher her lexicon using the heuristic approach of hands on learning in the observation setting, allowing all to be placed in proper context and situation. </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">3.0 Critical Reflection<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The primary components for the interview portion of the data collection consisted of questions about the interviewee’s education, job experience and writing and reading practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As mentioned before, it became clear very quickly in the interview process that perhaps the questions being asked were somehow in disconnect with the actual “on the job” practices of the interviewer, and that the Discourse Community of Social Work was too narrow to encompass the role that Lisa plays as a Behavioral Social-Psychologist ED Intake Specialist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that point in the interview, Lisa “took over” for a period, informing as to the differences between the education level of an job description of a discharge social worker, and that of Lisa in her position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The observation portion of the data collection had much more clearly defined components, which included observation and practice of ED consumer care, observation and communication with patients on the PW, and observation of dialog via telephone between Lisa and insurance companies, and Lisa and other Psychiatric care providing facilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Drafting and coding and rewriting my field notes was easily accomplished, as it was done immediately after the observation session, which in itself was only days after the interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My recommendation for those completing this project in the future would be to conduct the observation session first, and then proceed to the interview, as more questions that are appropriate could be formatted, and a review and “decompression” of the observation process could then occur. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">4.0 Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A great deal of information about the Medical Social Work Discourse Community has been obtained by analyzing within the framework of Beaufort’s five knowledge domains time spent in interview and observation of an expert in the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding the application of the rhetorical knowledge, writing process knowledge, genre, and subject matter within the actual situation of practice has provided invaluable insight as to what is necessary to be an expert within this discourse community. The focus of further research remains a deeper understanding of how the Psychology and Social Work communities interact and overlap, and the depth of knowledge required from each area of expertise in order to practice successfully. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div class="Section9"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div></div><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" /> </span> <div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Synthesis Project<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Writing and Literacy Practices of the Clinical Social Work Discourse Community: How Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Communities Converge in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Abstract<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using <a href="" name="SYN1">a large body of published works on discourse community analysis as it’s framework, this study uses rhetorical analysis, as well as data collected through interview and observation to examine the convergence of knowledge domains within the Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology discourse communities as practiced within an Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit. <o:p></o:p></a></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN1;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Social work practice assists individuals, groups and communities by enhancing or restoring their capacity for social function and creating societal conditions favorable to reach their goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social workers work in a variety of settings, including health care facilities, public welfare agencies, child welfare agencies, public and private schools, colleges and universities, and community organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within the more specialized area of clinical social work practice lays a systematic process and activity that is designed to assess client situations and help clients achieve agreed upon goals in order to promote optimal health and well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="SYN4">Social workers are members of a discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They share a common discourse, that is, a form of communication that leads to an informed way of thinking, reading and writing, and when combined, they form a community that uses and creates in an ongoing process the aforementioned discourse. <o:p></o:p></a></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>John Swales, a professor of linguistics and co-director of the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English at the University of Michigan, and author of The Concept of Discourse<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Community, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings </i>proposes the following six defining characteristics sufficient for identifying a group of individuals as a discourse community:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Discourse Community has:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">vii.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A broadly agreed set of common public goals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">viii.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">ix.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">x.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">One or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">xi.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Acquired some specific lexis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">xii.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (471-73).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The discourse community of practicing clinical social workers is as diverse as the clients they aim to serve. However, the overarching goal of the community remains the enhancement of human well-being, and helping to meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty (National Social Workers Code of Ethics).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN4;"></span> <div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In this article, the role of clinical social work as practiced in both the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit is examined. I argue that <a href="" name="SYN2">Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit must be completely adept in all of the knowledge domains of both the Clinical Social Work discourse community and Clinical Social Psychology discourse community in order to effectively achieve the overarching goal of the clinical social work community as previously described. </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This argument constructs on the theoretical framework of discourse community analysis, rhetorical analysis of published works from social work discourse, interview data from a practicing Behavioral Social-Psychologist Intake Specialist, and observation data from a Clinical Social Worker in both the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit settings.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theoretical Framework<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><a href="" name="SYN8"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My research emerges from a body of work on discourse communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Central to this framework are five knowledge domains developed by Anne Beaufort in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This comprehensive model of the five knowledge domains applies to any discourse community. Awareness and assimilation of each of these domains aids a novice within a community to advance from general to context-specific expertise. These knowledge domains can also be expressed as the actual mental schemas writers need to invoke for analyzing new writing tasks either within their current discourse community, or as they enter or overlap into a new discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Beaufort, within this model knowledge domains overlap, and yet still remain distinct, representing situated knowledge entailed in acts of writing. These five knowledge domains include:<o:p></o:p></span></a></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing Process Knowledge: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How the members of the community approach writing, including drafting, and revision; balanced by the community demands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Subject Matter Knowledge: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How informed and or educated the community members are on the subjects they are writing about. Knowledge of this domain defines what regards acceptable scholarship within the community.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Knowledge: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How the community uses rhetorical techniques to successfully argue and defend positions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre Knowledge: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The types of writing the community employs in repeating situations. </span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div align="left" class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Discourse Community Knowledge: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The overarching goals and values of the discourse community make manifest in this domain, which encompasses the other four domains </span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">(15-19).<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The five knowledge domains articulated here form the theoretical framework I will use for analyzing all data collected including the published works in the form of a rhetorical analysis, coded interview responses, and coded observation field notes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN8;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Method<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The present study analyzes coded data from one interview with a Behavioral Social Psychology Intake Specialist, rhetorical analysis of four pieces of published material culled from universally accepted social work, public health or psychology journals, and the coded field notes taken from observation of a Clinical Social Worker practicing in both an Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.1 Collection Method<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">i. Rhetorical Analysis<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mastery of discourse within clinical social work practiced in an Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit requires determination of primary sources for published articles, research and case studies within the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Publications chosen to obtain pieces for rhetorical analysis include <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Public Health </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the Center on Human Development and Disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Chosen for analysis based on their relevance to Clinical Social Work, Social Psychology, Emergency Department Procedure or Psychiatric Unit Procedure were the following: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn6" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Factors That Influence Clinician’s Assessment and Management of Family Violence.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn7" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments”.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn8" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Interdisciplinary Team Evaluation of “John”: A Case Study.” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn9" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using a rhetorical method of analysis, I examined each piece for evidence of this study’s theoretical framework: Anne Beaufort’s five knowledge domains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noting recurring themes and strengths or weaknesses of each domain confirmation, I was able to deduce the overall goals of the Clinical Social Work discourse community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">ii. Interview<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Lisa Kopacka, a licensed Clinical Psychologist who obtained Masters Degrees in both Clinical Social Work and Clinical Psychology from Wayne State University willingly participated in dialogue and questioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Kopaca currently works for St. John Hospital at two different locations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At location one, Ms. Kopacka splits her time between three different jobs. Her primary responsibility is to see patients in the Emergency Department and determine if the patient is in need of in-patient psychiatric treatment, partial-day treatment, or if they should be released from the Emergency Department with recommendation to seek treatment elsewhere. Ms. Kopacka’s second responsibility includes completion of rounds on the medical floors of the hospital to check on patients who are in need of psychiatric care but have not obtained medical clearance for admittance to the Psychiatric Unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, Ms. Kopacka remains in constant communication with the Social Psychologist on the Psychiatric floor to see how many beds are available and the status of the patients admitted there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At location two, Ms. Kopacka works in the Emergency Department performing the same job as she does in the Emergency Department at location one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interview consisted of 1.5 hours of Ms. Kopacka answering questions asked about her education, her career path, and about her writing and literacy practices on the job. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">iii. Observation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Observation for this study took place at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights, Michigan, in the Emergency Department and in the Psychiatric Unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Emergency Department is a twenty-two-bed unit and offers emergency psychiatric assessment in addition to other emergency related services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Psychiatric Unit is a twenty-six-bed ward located on the seventh floor of the facility. The unit offers in-patient adult psychiatric treatment as well as both in-patient and outpatient Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). I was able to both observe and practice in both the Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Unit over a seven-hour consecutive period, seeing patients in both the Emergency Department (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">n=3)</i> and in the Psychiatric Unit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(n=4)</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notation was made of the writing practices and procedures of the Clinical Social Worker present in both the Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Unit, and all intake, evaluation and discharge forms were collected as further data. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.2 Coding Process<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In her book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qualitative Research: a Guide to Design and Implementation, </i>Dr. Sharan B. Merriam of the University of Georgia provides the framework of data analysis used in this study. This framework or methodology of data analysis aims to find answers to research questions by locating and labeling categories or themes and translating reoccurrence or regularities of these themes into findings <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i.e. </i>answers to research questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><a href="" name="SYN3"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Coding of both the interview and observation data took place in two stages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Open Coding:</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Memos of key words and my initial responses, reactions and queries were noted. Notation was made of application or practice of any of Beaufort’s five knowledge domains, each specifically labeled. Diagnosis was made of all patients (n=7) using the multi-axial system. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Axial Coding: </span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Data was subsequently grouped and separated into the following categories based on the following recurring themes:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l12 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Subject knowledge domain is very specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing Process and Genre knowledge domains are very specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical knowledge domain blends both Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Communities. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In agreement with Dr. Merriam, qualitative analysis of the data began with the use of inductive reasoning in the open coding process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comparative analysis began in the axial coding process, as the three main pieces of data (rhetorical analysis, interview and observation) differentiated in relationship to recurring coding themes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, deductive reasoning was evident in the correlation and development of findings. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN3;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Findings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My findings are presented in four subsections: overall findings, necessary specific social psychology subject matter domain knowledge, necessary specific writing process and genre domain knowledge, and finally a broad multi-community understanding of rhetorical knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><a href="" name="SYN5"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.1 Overall Findings<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN5;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: SYN5;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Correlation between reoccurring themes within the rhetorical analysis, interview and observation showed a remarkable carry-over between the Clinical Social Work discourse community and the Clinical Psychology discourse community, specifically as practiced in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit. This was evident within all five of Beaufort’s knowledge domains, but most pronounced in the domains of subject matter, writing process and genre, and rhetorical knowledge.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.2<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit must have subject knowledge specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric unit see patients with a variety of social, economic and mental health issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These issues may include but are not limited to: substance abuse diagnosis and treatment, mental health diagnosis and treatment, developmental health analysis, rape, incest, and physical abuse including child abuse, spousal abuse and elder abuse. Rhetorical analysis of four published works from relevant Clinical Social Work publications, as well as data collected from the interview and observation indicate that Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit must have subject knowledge specific to the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical analysis of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>“Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault”, from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New England Journal of Medicine </i>illustrates that a complete understanding of Clinical Psychology methods of analysis, diagnosis, and treatment are necessary. The piece provides a case vignette of a twenty- year old woman who presents in the Emergency Department with a report of having been sexually assaulted twenty-four hours earlier. She reports that a man she had met at a campus party walked her to her apartment, where he assaulted and raped her, including vaginal penetration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The article presents evidence supporting various strategies comprised of evidence collection and photography of injuries, formal legal guidelines that include an awareness of time limitations, and the author’s clinical recommendations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These recommendations involve a detailed section for the practicing Clinical Social Worker, who in this setting explains the process of evidence collection, offers support, describes options, and explains the hospital process to both the victim and any of the family or friends present. The social worker must be aware that “sexual assault survivors are at an increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) (30%), major depression (30%), and contemplation of suicide (33%), or an actual attempt (13%)” (3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worker must evaluate the patients immediate and future emotional and safety needs, showing complete competency of the treatment necessary for the psychological conditions aforementioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The breadth of Ms. Kolpacka’s subject matter domain of knowledge was evident in the interview setting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Kolpacka spent the beginning of the interview answering questions primarily centered around the interviewers understanding of medical social work, which included many questions about education, the differences between the Emergency Department and in-patient floors, and the amount of time spent on discharge planning. It became very clear to me within thirty minutes of the interview process that Ms. Kolpacka’s subject matter knowledge domain reached far beyond that of Clinical Social Work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“While I obtained my Masters of Social Work, many of the skills I use on a daily basis draw mainly from my Masters of Clinical Psychology”, she stated, continuing, “my social work skills help me understand where the patients are coming from and the life they are probably going to be discharged back to. My social work skills also help me a lot in understanding and quickly seeing signs of substance abuse and physical abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Psychology skills allow me to converse with the Doctors and see what the underlying physiological illness of the consumers are.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The consistent use of subject matter knowledge from the Clinical Psychology discourse community was also evident in the observation setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the session, three patients were admitted to the Emergency Department, medically cleared by the medical doctor (meaning their only medical condition appeared to be psychiatric or substance abuse in nature), and turned over to the care the Clinical Social Worker for intake behavioral assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The social worker followed the BAI (Behavioral Assessment Intake Form) as a guide for questioning each patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This form included questions ranging from prior hospitalizations and health history, to sharing thoughts of suicide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon completion of this form (which is computerized at some hospitals, but not at the Oakland location), the social worker scored (or coded) the form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This score, combined with the workers own notes, would result in a final conclusion of Axis I, Axis II, Axis III, Axis IV and Axis V diagnosis, as well as a GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning Score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis I </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">is the top-level diagnosis that usually represents the acute symptoms that need treatment; Axis 1 diagnoses are the most familiar and widely recognized (e.g., major depressive episode, schizophrenic episode, panic attack). Axis I terms are classified according to </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/DSM_IV/jsp/DSM_VCodes.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">V-codes</span></a><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> by the medical industry (primarily for billing and insurance purposes).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Axis was very important, and the most evident in my observation, as the insurance companies of the patients who required in-patient care demanded this Axis of information before the patient could be admitted. <b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Axis II is for </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/mental.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">personality disorders</span></a><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> and developmental disorders such as </span><a href="http://www.psyweb.com/Mdisord/jsp/menret.jsp"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">mental retardation</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">.<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"> Axis II disorders, if present, are likely to influence Axis I problems. For example, a student with a learning disability may become extremely stressed by school and suffer a panic attack (an Axis I diagnosis).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis III is for medical or neurological conditions that may influence a psychiatric problem. For example, diabetes might cause extreme fatigue, which may lead to a depressive episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis IV identifies recent psychosocial stressors such as a death of a loved one, divorce, losing a job, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axis V identifies the patient's level of function on a scale of 0-100, (100 is top-level functioning), which was abovementioned as the GAF score. This multiaxial diagnostic system is the standard for </span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">classifying all mental illnesses and disorders within the Clinical Psychology practice. When considered together, these five levels give the Clinical Social Worker a complete diagnosis that includes factors influencing psychiatric conditions, which is of great importance for effective treatment planning.</span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.3 Standardization of the writing process and genres used by Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit provides consistent reporting standards, and indicates the importance of complete assimilation by the Social Worker into the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><a href="" name="SYN7"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical Analysis of “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault” published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine </i>revealed the importance of consistent standardized reporting standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of rape, evidence collection kits contain forms for documentation and to assist examiners and the Clinical Social Worker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After medial clearance, the patient should be offered medical collection. The collection of forensic evidence is a multistep process that can take six or more hours to complete and is best performed by the Clinical Social Worker. The aim is to record the victim’s report of the assault, collect and record evidence to support this report, and collect DNA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Highly sensitive DNA techniques can assist in identifying a perpetrator by matching DNA to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database of convicted felons, maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation” (2-3). In this case, the writing process and the genre used could be a key factor in a criminal case.</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing process knowledge was very difficult to ascertain during the interview process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interviewee, Ms. Kolpacka, has been practicing in an expert level role for so long that she had a difficult time vocalizing and expressing her writing process phases. According to Ms. Kolpacka, “all of the writing that I do is within the context of pre-established forms.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There appears to be no editing or reviewing process for her: she self-corrects and modifies her writing as she goes, or as more information becomes available from the consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I would say that the writing style used in my practice is taken directly from the DSM IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), although that doesn’t always line up with the ICD-10 (the International Statistical Classification of Diseases-10), which is what the Docs use.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time of the interview, this explanation was unclear, but the observation session shed much more light on the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="" name="SYN6">Observation of the Clinical Social Worker in both the Emergency Department and the Psychiatric Unit revealed that the social worker wrote within the framework of the DSM IV and the Five Axis system in a methodical, standardized, almost robotic way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the rushed and often hectic pace of the ED, and given that the social workers primary responsibility was to diagnose and assign consumers and not to provide clinical therapy, her writing process must be drawn from a combination of concrete diagnostic knowledge and a very standardized method for communicating that knowledge.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bedrock in which all of the information gathered, and the multiaxial diagnosis are recorded onto are the standardized forms provided by the hospital. These forms are very helpful to the Clinical Social Worker, as there is little opportunity for extended lengths of time to be spent with each patient, especially if the situation if life-threatening or highly traumatic. The clear cut, easy to read format of consistent preprinted forms makes for fast skimming of important facts and information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, one of the patients, Henry<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn10" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[10]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a>, a “frequent flier” arrived in the Emergency Department in a state of extreme agitation and confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry was hearing demons talking to him and seeing illusions of those demons in front of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was aggressive, and spitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Safety of the staff, Henry was restrained in his bed and a “sitter” was called in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick scan of the BAI</span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">forms from his visit the previous month indicated an Axis I Diagnosis of schizophrenia, complicated by Axis III Psycho-Social conditions of alcoholism, and homelessness. Because of this information, it took the Clinical Social Worker only a few seconds to determine Henry’s condition, rather than the minutes it would have taken to read another format, such as a case report. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This “quick and fast” genre of writing was also obvious in the speech patterns observed between the Clinical Social Worker, the insurance companies, and other facilities she spoke with during the course of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no social niceties exchanged during these conversations, but rather brief and hurried code numbers and names for diagnosis, and treatment suggestions such as in or outpatient services. Clearly, standardization of the writing process and genres used by Clinical Social Workers practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit provides consistent reporting standards, and indicates the importance of complete assimilation by the Social Worker into the Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Community.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.4 Rhetorical knowledge, (specifically lexicon) blends both Clinical Social Work and Clinical Social Psychology Discourse Communities.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beaufort states that writers must address “the specific, immediate rhetorical situation of individual communicative acts…considering the specific audience and purpose for a particular text and how best to communicate rhetorically in that instance” (20). By examining details such as who the author is directing his work towards, the style and formatting of the work, and even the lexis the author has chosen, we can learn a great deal about what Beaufort calls the “social context, material conditions, timing and social relationships” within a discourse community (20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This detailed examination will lead to obtaining greater rhetorical knowledge of a specific discourse community, which in this case, is Clinical Social Work. Take, for example, “The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments” published in 2010 in a journal entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care.</i> The article presents the findings of a study completed by the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University using a scientific method of research to determine that the presence of social workers in an Emergency Department is very cost effective for a hospital as it reduces the occurrence of admittance. The study is presented in the American Psychological Association (APA) format, which structures the piece into clearly defined sections including Abstract, Background, Method, Sample, Results, Limitations, Discussion, and Reference sections. The piece also includes tables to clearly illustrate findings. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Factors that Influence Clinicians’ Assessment and Management of Family Violence”, published in 1994 by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health, </i>also uses the APA format. However, it extends to include sections on Interventions and Mandated Reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This piece evaluates different professionals within the health services (dental hygienists, dentists, nurses, physicians, psychologists, and social workers) to assess which factors may contribute to their reporting (or lack of reporting) of suspected abuse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The APA format is used frequently in the social sciences, as it allows for precise details and leaves little room for conjecture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, further studies can build on works that use APA, as application of the same methodology creates a constant in what can appear to be an ever-changing field of practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition to utilizing the APA format, the Clinical Social Work discourse community employs a very similar lexicon as the Clinical Psychology discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, words that can have multiple meanings or implications are clearly defined so that there is no room for interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in the public health piece, abuse is defined as “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">physical maltreatment” and is further divided into the categories of child abuse, spouse abuse and elder abuse (628). “Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault” also clearly defines the main terms of the work: sexual assault and rape. This is accomplished at the beginning of the piece, so there can be no confusion in the mind of the clinical practitioner. Defining terms comprehensively is of great importance in the social sciences, as there may be legal implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point, the piece on sexual assault clearly states the legal definitions of rape, body orifice, and incapacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rape is a legal term and in the United States refers to any penetration of a body orifice (mouth, vagina, or anus) involving force or the threat of force or incapacity (i.e. associated with young or old age, cognitive or physical disability, or drug or alcohol intoxication) and nonconsent” (1). This very detailed definition of the terms provides the practitioner with information necessary to make a determination of whether to include law enforcement into the circle of patient care, and in what terms to explain to both the patient and the law enforcement what has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, all of the pieces examined use a lexicon that would be foreign to those outside of the social work discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Words and phrases such as “supplemental security income”, “developmental disabilities”, “placement”, “environmental” and “coefficient” are just a few examples of words that take on a different meaning within social work practice. Examining both this lexicon as well as the APA method of formatting allows one to make a reasonable attempt at understanding the rhetorical knowledge domain of the Clinical Social Work discourse community. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rhetorical knowledge expressed in the interview format was very vague and difficult to process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked about establishing logos, pathos and ethos, Ms. Kopacka once again referred to the DSM IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appears that all credibility on her part would be lost if she varied from this standardized heuristic of diagnosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it became obvious throughout the interview that there was a specific lexicon used among the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terms that were unfamiliar included “consumer” in place of “patient”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“intake” in place of “admit”, and most surprising “Social-Psychologist” in place of “Medical Social Worker.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This new lexicon continued in the observation session, both in the Emergency Department as well as in the Psychiatric Unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slang terms such as “frequent flier” for patients who returned on a very frequent basis, “greenie” for the Residents (because of the color of scrubs they wear), and “sitters” who are minimum wage hospital employees hired to sit or guard a patient that may be a danger or physical threat to other patients or personnel were used regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also noticeable were many unfamiliar terms that appeared to be medically unrelated, but rather slang for other everyday tasks or items, exchanged between the Doctors, Nurses, the Clinical Social Worker, and the Residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This private language may be used so that the patients, who are in curtained off areas surrounding the Emergency Department center station, do not fully understand what the staff is saying to one another. This would be in keeping with the practice of a Clinical Social Workers raised social awareness, as well as an attempt to protect the patient and their dignity in all circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discussion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When combined with a comprehensive rhetorical analysis of selected published articles and a case study produced by the Clinical Social Work Discourse community; my data from interview and observation field notes clearly indicate that clinical social workers practicing in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit must be completely adept in all of the knowledge domains of both the Clinical Social Work discourse community and Clinical Psychology discourse community. Most important for successful Clinical Social Worker practice in an Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit setting is complete comprehension of the subject matter domain of the Clinical Psychology discourse community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Application of the subject matter occurs in theory in the evaluation and diagnosis of consumers. Application occurs in practice within the writing process and rhetorical domains, specifically in the successful completion of standardized forms. The Clinical Social Worker practicing in the Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit must effectively embrace the knowledge domains of the Clinical Psychology community in order to achieve adeptness in patient care and to achieve the overarching goals of the Clinical Social Work community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As a novice in the Clinical Social Work discourse community, it is difficult to assess all of the knowledge that a rhetorical situation can provide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, it is unclear exactly who the anticipated audience is, specifically in the piece published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>This piece could easily be read and put into practice by Clinical Social Workers, Physicians, Nurses, Emergency Medical Responders and Police Officers, all of which represent vastly different discourse communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the basic underlying principals of further study in the field of social work is required in order to understand rhetorical audience and context in a more concrete way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A full understanding of both the Clinical Psychology and Social Work Discourse communities was evident in observing the Clinical Social Worker in practice in the Psychiatric Unit. In completing rounds on the Psychiatric Unit, the social worker discussed with the consumers (and in some cases their families) their discharge plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would help them to remember to take their daily medications? Where would outpatient treatment take place? How would transportation be arranged to this therapy? These concerns are all encompassed in the role of a social worker, however, knowledge of the underling psychological causes for the treatment, such as Clinical Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder etc. was also necessary.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is also important to note the similarities between Ms. Kopacka’s communication style with me in the interview and her professional communication style with me during my observation of the Emergency Department and Psychiatric Unit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms. Kopacka spoke in the same manner in both settings, forgetting perhaps the novice level of the interviewer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was much easier to decipher her lexicon using the heuristic approach of hands on learning in the observation setting, allowing all to be placed in proper context and situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This realization is in alignment with James Gee’s theory that Discourses are “not mastered by overt instruction (even less so by languages, and hardly anyone ever fluently acquired a second language sitting in a classroom), but by enculturation (“apprenticeship”) into social practices through scaffolded and supported interaction with people who have already mastered the Discourse”(484).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gee goes on to say: “You cannot overtly teach anyone a Discourse, in a classroom or anywhere else (484).”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the completion of the rhetorical analysis and interview processes for this article provided a great deal of data; it took full assimilation in practice in the observation setting for me to gain my own heuristic of how the Clinical Social Work and Clinical Psychology discourse communities intersect and overlap. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">6. Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As with all bodies of exploratory research, this study has several limitations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, the interviewee and the Clinical Social Worker observed were the same person, Ms. Kolpacka.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, the data-base of consumers observed was very small (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">n</i>=7). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Style2" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My findings, however, do point to interesting questions for further research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First is the question of how many Clinical Social Workers are practicing in an Emergency Department or Psychiatric Unit setting with little or no subject matter knowledge of the Clinical Psychology discourse community, and how does this lack of expertise affect consumer care? Second, in terms of discourse community studies, should the Social Sciences be viewed in terms of one large discourse community, thereby revisiting college level writing instruction within these majors? Finally, this study points to the importance of looking at the practice of Clinical Social Workers and Clinical Social Psychologists through the lens of discourse community analysis in order to provide insightful perceptions of the literacy heuristics of each community. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">References<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Auerbac, PhD., Charles, and Susan<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>E. Mason, PhD. "The Value of the Presence of Social Work in Emergency Departments." <i>Social Work in Health Care</i>. 49.4 (2010): 314-326. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Beaufort, Anne. <i>College Writing and Beyond:A New Framework for University Writing Instruction</i>. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">"Clinical Social Work." <i>Center on Human Development and Disability</i>. Clinical training Unit, University of Washington, 19 Jul 2007. Web. 9 Oct 2011. <http://depts.washington.edu/lend/seminars/modules/socialwork/clinical.htm><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Clinicians' Assessment and Management of Family Violence." <i>American Journal of Public Health</i>. 84.4 (1994): 628-633. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Gee, James P. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: introduction.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of Education </i>(1989): 5-17. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Linden, M.D., Judith A. "Care of the Adult Patient after Sexual Assault." <i>New England Journal of Medicine</i>. (2011): 834-841. Print<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">Merriam, Sharan B. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Qualitative Research: A guide to Design and Implementation. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 2.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">"National Social Workers Code of Ethics." <i>National Association of Social Workers</i>. National Association of Social Workers, 5 Jul 2011. Web. 9 Oct 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <!--[endif]--> <div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Case studies are extremely private documents, so for the purpose of this analysis, a mock case study provided by the Clinical Training Unit at The University of Washington was used. </span></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Case studies are extremely private documents, so for the purpose of this analysis, a mock case study provided by the Clinical Training Unit at The University of Washington was used. </span></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Case studies are extremely private documents, so for the purpose of this analysis, a mock case study provided by the Clinical Training Unit at The University of Washington was used. </span></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Anne Beaufort <u>College Writing and Beyond<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></u>(Utah State University Press: 2007) 5-27.</div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> This, as well as all other patient names, has been changed for the protection of the patient’s privacy. </div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New England Journal of Medicine<o:p></o:p></i></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Public Health<o:p></o:p></i></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Social Work in Health Care<o:p></o:p></i></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Center on Human Development and Disability</i></div></div><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[10]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a> This, as well as all other patient names was changed for the protection of the patient’s privacy. </div></div></div><!--EndFragment--></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Wayne State University, 5425 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI 48202, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-2206478353211000812011-08-31T11:28:00.000-04:002011-08-31T11:28:10.969-04:00Hi Ho, Hi Ho... Back to School I go!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd0kO16a86olcIfjyKS7S91np1Q7TfSuJ_zqxI0f2koMWgstbpwZ1m3dXwwpQ8tITm2cHpw7Kr3Jh9rH9jNkZGsm22naOnm6zDCFKM4mCyugLVYTTmu_v9IganNXtw0yH21F_cClBin0/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd0kO16a86olcIfjyKS7S91np1Q7TfSuJ_zqxI0f2koMWgstbpwZ1m3dXwwpQ8tITm2cHpw7Kr3Jh9rH9jNkZGsm22naOnm6zDCFKM4mCyugLVYTTmu_v9IganNXtw0yH21F_cClBin0/s400/Unknown.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">After a wonderful three- week- long summer vacation complete with trips to D.C & NYC, Mommy back at College is, well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">back at college! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>I sit here now, between classes on my fist day of the fall semester and am amazed at the difference in the “feel” of the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The summer campus was quiet, my classes had far fewer students, and things just seemed a bit more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relaxed</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I could not help but smile in my 8:30 a.m. class, as about 100 students poured in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The campus is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">packed</b> and buzzing with excitement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are newly uniformed crossing guards to direct traffic; the bookstore is festooned with bright balloons, and (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gasp</i>!) there is a line at my favorite place to get my morning cuppa tea. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In retrospect, I can see now that starting my new journey at college during a spring/summer semester was, as Martha would say, a “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good thing”</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt comfortable, was surprised that there were actually other students my age, and developed a very nice rapport with all of my professors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made it through my first semester successfully (with grades that would have even made my parents proud), and am happy to say that I am starting this semester as a member of the Honors College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do not</b> recommend taking a years worth of college in 12 weeks, (which is what I did last semester- 25 credits), but it worked for me, as it allowed me to get a lot of the General Education credits out of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have 4 fewer credits this semester, so in theory, things should lighten up a bit. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My children and husband adjusted quickly to me being out of the home, and I was able to still make it to their “big” summer events, like Little League Championships and swim finals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still enjoyed about the same number of family nights with friends, and even made it to a few of the Tigers games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house and yard (albeit somewhat neglected), did survive, and none of the neighbors reported us to the local authorities for weeds, long grass or overall blight. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">This semester, like the last one, is filled with mostly Liberal Arts general education classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thankfully this will be the LAST semester of that!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first class this morning was Geology, or “rocks for jocks”, as it is commonly referred to, as it meets the University requirement for a Physical Science, and most of the non-science majors would prefer this to Chemistry or Physics. As I looked around the class I could not help but smile as I realized that most of the class was young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">REALLY</i></b> young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brand new freshmen type young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not help but to look at them through my “mommy” lens, as I noticed new jeans and backpacks, freshly highlighted hair, and nervous excitement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While waiting for the professor to arrive (who was 5 minutes late) a few of them glanced at me, as if I might be the professor, and had seated myself in the middle of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I sat there, (trying to be impervious to the glances), I made a mental list of all I would tell them if I could, using (of course) my infinite Mommy wisdom…</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Come to class.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today is proof that you obviously CAN get here! Please try to do so for the rest of the semester! Your parents have paid their hard earned money for you to be here- they could take an AWESOME vacation with this $$- but no- they chose to spend it on YOU. </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buy the Textbook and read it.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Prof made it perfectly clear that 100% of the exam questions are from the text and lectures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">That guy sitting next to you is NOT worth the effort.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At age 18 all men are stupid idiots. (With acne no less!) Smile, be nice, and get on with your studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It you need sex, buy a vibrator and use it when your roommate has her I-pod plugged into her ears. You won’t get pregnant, STD’s, or fail a class because of your relationship with your vibrator. </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">If you don’t like your roommate, MOVE NOW, (its NOT going to get any better.</b>) If she is a drinker, partier, or disorganized slob now, she will be that way the rest of the semester. Get out and make a move while you can! </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do not drink lattes, eat from the vending machines, or eat meals while studying.</b> I did it my first semester and gained TWENTY –TWO pounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, 22 lbs! Now I have the stress of being a mommy with 21 credits AND having to lose 22 lbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NOT GOOD. At my age, losing 22 lbs takes a year or more of constant work. Not to mention, most of you are pouring yourself into skinny jeans or leggings from PINK with a muffin top hanging over the waist, your butt crack showing, and wearing tank tops with bras that do not fit you. It looks AWEFUL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tatts and nose piercing do not make it look better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor do suede Uggs on the 31<sup>st</sup> of August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do however, like that big tortoise shell eyeglasses are back in style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going to get me some of those…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That was all I had time to think about before the Geology Prof came in…… I’m sure I will think of more as the semester goes on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off to English class I go! </div><!--EndFragment--></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1Wayne State University, 5425 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI 48202, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-80080818631329394402011-08-03T12:43:00.001-04:002011-08-03T12:45:39.198-04:00THEY DID IT!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYVNawz8FaEi9jI4NLHVSeNHZNQmwC_Ueo-sJy1-cGxcfuxtG16NswVf9WnFDASGRBd5a7je1-RNhnU4iTq75oVbEY1KDPi-NDco9sKhq7N_fbWqp9y0l_05Yyztjm_RB3WMIZUiuQB8/s1600/DSC_0137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYVNawz8FaEi9jI4NLHVSeNHZNQmwC_Ueo-sJy1-cGxcfuxtG16NswVf9WnFDASGRBd5a7je1-RNhnU4iTq75oVbEY1KDPi-NDco9sKhq7N_fbWqp9y0l_05Yyztjm_RB3WMIZUiuQB8/s640/DSC_0137.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Plymouth Park, Midland, MI 48642, USA43.6390903 -84.21009349999997143.6363893 -84.212573999999975 43.6417913 -84.207612999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-18717777578022551442011-07-28T12:09:00.001-04:002011-07-28T12:10:11.203-04:00DOES THIS SHOCK YOU??? IT SHOULD.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR15IA0zWukRVlIAb3jXtqT3YA25vrGA24iw6Wtx772T_i-EatEUySECOM_hBCtDDEhCmyrQTWwlJ6MphO8eGf-r-4gAbN2ImGfVev2vIIFJJHOlxXfBf2UbR3bC5aNC4ithdsmLIjKR4/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR15IA0zWukRVlIAb3jXtqT3YA25vrGA24iw6Wtx772T_i-EatEUySECOM_hBCtDDEhCmyrQTWwlJ6MphO8eGf-r-4gAbN2ImGfVev2vIIFJJHOlxXfBf2UbR3bC5aNC4ithdsmLIjKR4/s400/Unknown.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I recently became aware that there are parents who are tattooing their children, and this is LEGAL in the state of Michigan. I think this it outragous and should be considered a form of child abuse. My evaluation-proposal will examine the practice of tattooing children and will propose that the state of Michigan should adopt the same laws the state of New York has to combat this issue. </div><br />
</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1Wayne State University, 5229 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202-3930, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-76399094086018802552011-07-25T21:32:00.001-04:002011-07-25T21:44:59.893-04:00where my heart and mind have been this week.....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE-DIChHiaGMKleUfM7KC-fGTLtU7estErT-zj9-nlKc8btbwHh8w-_WEoBNBLerrey8rdG-6FWBiJXC85ISEt8xwGFN27byTMfIRvYzcFeI_YOQ4kZrnp_33lwRBEBnvPbF9UkKoHws/s1600/DSC_0100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE-DIChHiaGMKleUfM7KC-fGTLtU7estErT-zj9-nlKc8btbwHh8w-_WEoBNBLerrey8rdG-6FWBiJXC85ISEt8xwGFN27byTMfIRvYzcFeI_YOQ4kZrnp_33lwRBEBnvPbF9UkKoHws/s640/DSC_0100.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>My son Davis is the second from the left and is the catcher for the team. My husband Dean is the tall coach with the sunglasses on his hat. This team, the Grosse Pointe Park Little League 11's, just won the local Districts and Sectionals and are now off to the State championships! Of course the championships are during finals week..........mommy back at college is now stressed!</div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0George Defer Elementary School, 15425 Kercheval Ave, Grosse Pte Park, MI 48230-1337, USA42.3825999 -82.937510.428770400000001 -142.703125 74.3364294 -23.171875tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-37520961270013572752011-07-17T23:02:00.012-04:002011-07-19T22:59:13.845-04:00Defining Queer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>"All the world is queer save thee and me. And even thou art a little queer."</i><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">~Sir Robert Owen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">There are countless words that we use to label or name various types of sex acts. Terms such as homosexual and heterosexual can trace their usage from the late 1890’s. Sodomy as a labeling word for sex dates back to 1300.AD, while terms such as copulate and intercourse were first used in the late 1600’s. The term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">queer</i> has been in usage for at least the last two centuries, and as an adjective was widely used to describe anything outside of the socially acceptable norm. In the late 1800’s queer started to be used as a noun and was (and still sometimes is) used as a derogatory term for a homosexual man. Queer has reemerged since the 1990’s as a positively perceived adjective, noun, and verb (the description, the person and the act), both within and outside of the gay, lesbian and transgender community. Queer or queerness describes sexual activity or gender binary outside of the accepted norm with an implied emphasis on challenging, protesting, or being at odds with the norm, thereby diminishing the importance and power of the norm. There needs to be a greater understanding of the new utilization of the terms queer and queerness by heterosexual men and women, as the very convention of the words has changed so much.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Historically Speaking<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Prior to the 1990’s, the term queer was pejorative for primarily gay men. In crude American informal language, it is commonly coupled with curse words, such as “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fucking queer”</i>, thereby strengthening the vehemence and hate surrounding the word. To be called a queer was on the same plane as being called a faggot, a homo or a dyke. None of these terms have positive associations, as angry homophobics almost always use them. This historical usage of queer has made those over 40 years old, myself included, leery of accepting the word now in its more positive, identity affirming form. The academic community, specifically Teresa de Lauretis at the University of California, is largely responsible for constructing the new usage of queer, as the theorization of queerness emerged out of university feminist studies. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer Theory</i>, as it has come to be known as, poses that social constructs, rather than nature, define sexual acts and the identities associated with them. In fact, as a heterosexual mother in my early 40’s, I have yet to hear anyone outside of the academic community of professors and students refer to themselves as queer. This may be in part because of my age and the types of television shows I watch. Popular shows, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer Eye for the Straight Guy </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer Folk </i>however,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>are reconditioning teens and young adults to see queerness as cool, fun and edgy. These shows are also normalizing queerness while at the same time celebrating the very differences that make the characters queer. This is a very good thing, as it helps society to connect with queer characters and gain a better understanding of queers and the challenges they face. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Identity or Identifiable<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Some people despise differences among genders and sexual practices and would do anything <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but </i>celebrate queerness. For persons living their lives as the same gender in which they were born and that engage only in sexual activity with those of the opposite gender, labels for sex acts are only words used to give a name a nature given gender or reproductive drive. For this segment of the population, these words do not define ones identity outside of the act of sex. For example, if a woman tells a friend that she had sex in the missionary position with her husband the night before, that friend does not hereafter make reference to that woman as “the woman who has sex in the missionary style” whenever referring to her amongst others. Missionary position sex does not become a part of the woman’s identity, nor is it the lens in which her friends view all of her actions through. This kind of sexuality is so normalized in our culture that certain lifestyles seem natural, of no historical significance, and universal in nature. An accurate visual representation of this would be to imagine a circle labeled “identity”. Within that circle (concentrically) would be another circle labeled “sexual behavior”. The sexual behavior is surrounded by or possibly protected by the identity that encircles it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> All of this changes if the words used to describe sexual acts include sex with one of the same gender, or if any aspect of ones gender differs from that in which they were born; either temporarily, as is the case with dressing in drag, or permanently, as in male to female or female to male sex changes. For these individuals, the words that describe their sex actions, such as homosexual, gay, transgender, lesbian, bisexual, sodomite, etc, are no longer a defining verb for a sex act, but instead a noun that is meant to identify the entire person, even outside of their sexual acts. When one discovers a friend is openly gay, we commonly come to refer to him as gay in all matters henceforth. We say things such as “my gay friend loves this restaurant”, or “my gay friend hated that movie”, as if his gayness somehow changed his taste buds or ability to critique a movie. His homosexuality becomes the lens in which we view all aspects of his life. Gayness is seen as his identity, and that identity is well transcribed by society, and is not an identity in which the individual has created for himself. Using the circular imagery mentioned earlier, this is visualized as an outer circle labeled “sexual acts” surrounding an inner circle labeled “identity”. This reality of sexual act identity definition amongst those who engage in same sex activity is given as a reason some individuals live an identified life within accepted norms (opposite sex activity, marriage, church conformity, etc) yet engage in closeted same sex activity either through action or thoughts. This group simply does not want<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> all</i> of their identity to be based on their sexual behavior. More specifically, they do not want to be identified as homosexual, gay, or even queer, as they fear it will be socially, relationally, or economically devastating for them. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Assumptions are Not a Good Thing<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Identity assumptions are further examined in the book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queer Theory; </i>a selection of arguments and essays by various authors compiled by Iain Morland and Annabell Willox, Donald Hall writes of conceptualizing the epistemological shift of characterizing the act of same sex activities from the identity, or social values we have ascribed to it. He states: “…if I am eating cold cereal one morning in a restaurant and I see someone else eating hot oatmeal, I suppose I may think to myself ‘ick, how can she eat that?’ but probably it would not even register with me. And I am quite sure I would never place her in a category of ‘hot cereal eater’ that would color my perception of her the rest of the day and forever afterwards. If we work together in the same office and I see her in the hallway, images of her eating oatmeal would not simply spring into my mind wishing her dead or incarcerated…” (Hall pg 98) The identity constructs that we place on sexual orientation can also only exist in a culture at a particular time. Hall cites the example of two men walking hand in hand down the street. If thus said men were in Los Angeles, it would be fair to assume they were gay. It they were in the Congo or India, this assumption would be totally false. This deconstructing of the social construct that comes with seeing two men holding hands is the very thing queerness achieves. Do we really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know </i>anything about the men just because we have seen them holding hands? Yet how likely would we be to vote for either of them in an election, convict them of a crime, deny them civil liberties or even worse, commit a hate crime against them. Social Psychologists call this effect <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fundamental Attribution Error</i>, which is the over-valuing of attributing disposition or personality based on observable behaviors while under-valuing situational explanations for those behaviors. (Wayne State University Department of Psychology) This practice, which we are all guilty of committing, (albeit unintentionally) is the very thing that drives some to re-label themselves as queers. What better word than queer to describe a break from the norm of the action (two men holding hands), a break from the norm in the cultural labeling of them (are they gay or not?) and a break from the norm in our assumptions about them. (Is there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> assumption we can make about them?)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Claiming the Label<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"> Identity constructs are the very thing that pushed the usage of queer into its modern form. Just as the women’s movement challenged the world to stop identifying all women with motherhood, marriage, weakness and domesticity, and the civil rights movement challenged the world to stop identifying blacks with slavery, inferiority and illiteracy, gays and lesbians needed to forge their own identifying characteristics outside of the traditional theatre loving, well dressed moody stereotypes society has constructed for them. It goes much deeper than naming roles or personality traits, though. The simple act of naming a movement, person or action gives it power. It validates it. Gender theorist Kate Bornstein, who at one time was a man turned woman but now lives as a gender fluid (moves between living as a man and as a woman) and calls herself genderqueer, writes in her book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gender Outlaws, The Next Generation,</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">There is power in claiming you own labels. In a world where everyone around you is constantly slapping their own labels on you, without your consent and sometimes even without your knowledge, it is powerful to stand up and say: no thank you. I do not want that label. I want this one. Having a label for yourself is the beginning of being able to verbally express what is wrong with the pre-existing system of labels…Language is an invaluable tool for defending one’s beliefs. You must be able to articulate your beliefs in order to share them with others. There is also a degree of validation that comes with assuming a label. I am this thing, which is a real thing. It is real because other people subscribe to it also, therefore I am real. (Bornstein and Bergman pg 174) </div><div class="MsoNormal">I can understand thru Bornstein’s explanation why power is so very important. Those who subscribe to heteronormativity hold all of the power to label, restrict and define all those who are not. By removing what was once a common term of hatred and redefining that very term as a positive, validating expression of difference, the power scale becomes more equally balanced. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queering It<o:p></o:p></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> Gender and sex acts are highly significant to the identities of those who call themselves queer. However, the individual queer and not the society in which he or she lives, should determine the relevancy of his or her gender and sexual activities. By questioning, or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">queering </i>societies accepted norms, we can construct our own identities and labels for our lives. This helps balance power and shift sexuality from social and cultural constructs to naturally occurring ones. This validation and reclamation of queerness succeeds in broadening discourse, which in itself is very powerful. Questioning the norm? Labeling our own identities? Equalizing power? How very <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">queer</i>! </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Wayne State University, 5229 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202-3930, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-53179557978111670022011-07-14T21:56:00.002-04:002011-07-14T22:00:11.116-04:00My Oldest at a baseball Game.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KaPYiUd9bFJwbI-xSQwKRFjqIEC8zVsDZ5cbfMt74oNvApt2cBtpV8u9Z9KA_Rnbtv09RE-JtQciYrIkei7ex_yDjEKgCW_BE-SHBFbRQgJ-HjOzWyEkhn-bVZMfLdrnP_Tin4aFNmk/s1600/securedownload.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KaPYiUd9bFJwbI-xSQwKRFjqIEC8zVsDZ5cbfMt74oNvApt2cBtpV8u9Z9KA_Rnbtv09RE-JtQciYrIkei7ex_yDjEKgCW_BE-SHBFbRQgJ-HjOzWyEkhn-bVZMfLdrnP_Tin4aFNmk/s640/securedownload.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Douglas at a Red Hawks Game. Age 13. Time Flies.<br />
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</tbody></table>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA42.3758708 -82.93741590000001942.3545178 -82.961447400000026 42.3972238 -82.913384400000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-19759544427611839662011-07-11T21:03:00.000-04:002011-07-11T21:03:35.542-04:00Choices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7un1V86H7rig11wQLmGsuL5VdXVuT6QBYkxu1_8J_FZAcbpD5dqluSAV1pvylAOzWAhlKHGd-bMsGviQh1Z0LRYCEfyJ1pSRLMd4a3tGiEbi5qiEKvi3AJl3oNHA08pq9_JwIBtJCBf0/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7un1V86H7rig11wQLmGsuL5VdXVuT6QBYkxu1_8J_FZAcbpD5dqluSAV1pvylAOzWAhlKHGd-bMsGviQh1Z0LRYCEfyJ1pSRLMd4a3tGiEbi5qiEKvi3AJl3oNHA08pq9_JwIBtJCBf0/s400/images.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-71216657071009788992011-07-11T14:19:00.003-04:002011-07-11T14:23:29.630-04:00Welfare, Poverty and the EITC<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9lfy-kKOwL9Bk2YGK16ZVfCU7_Kce0mfaEe74Zgf8fQm6LCp68MI8YO0JbXSF3phrReqN_IjbM04wrEnFmzOnjMFT2i0H2pFMDcqeuaqWx0eZ4NCbkV_pZS3MraPu-pkrxc_bFF0ICA/s1600/poverty-striken-mother-children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9lfy-kKOwL9Bk2YGK16ZVfCU7_Kce0mfaEe74Zgf8fQm6LCp68MI8YO0JbXSF3phrReqN_IjbM04wrEnFmzOnjMFT2i0H2pFMDcqeuaqWx0eZ4NCbkV_pZS3MraPu-pkrxc_bFF0ICA/s400/poverty-striken-mother-children.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, ”it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“Are there no prisons?”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“And the Union workhouses.” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“Both very busy, sir.” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“Oh. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,'” said Scrooge. “I'm very glad to hear it.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,” returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">”Nothing!” Scrooge replied. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">“You wish to be anonymous?” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer…” (Hearn)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> This famous passage taken from Dickens’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Christmas Carol </i>is known for its common response to treatment of the poor and disadvantaged. Much like the charity collectors in the time of Scrooge, the United States is continually looking for ways to improve the “system” by which the poor and needy can be helped. This “system”, known more commonly as welfare, has a long and storied past within American politics and society, and continues to spark controversy even today. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and its resulting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provided much needed reform to U.S. welfare policy. When combined with the Earned Income Tax Credit program (EITC), TANF implementation has shown to reduce the number of families receiving welfare assistance. However, TANF and EITC have had no impact in decreasing the number of families with children living below the poverty line, and more needs to be done to evaluate the reduction of poverty in this country.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.0pt;"> The United States has a long history of providing welfare to its citizens. Welfare is the term given to government assistance programs for the unemployed or underemployed. This assistance can be given through many programs, including Medicaid, the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, Aid for Families with Dependent Children, (AFDC) and most currently, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Welfare assistance began in colonial times, with the British Poor Laws. These laws gave financial assistance to those who were physically unable to work, and gave jobs in the workhouses to those who were unable to find jobs, but were physically able to work. Throughout the 1800’s the United States shifted its welfare focus to that of social reform, sending social workers (known as case workers) to the homes of poor families to train them in the advocated “morals of the work ethic.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) There were also programs for Civil War veterans and their families. Called the NHDVS (National Home for the Disabled Veteran Soldiers), this program provided a national scattering of respite homes in various locations to support healing and rest for disabled veterans. (Welfare Information)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.0pt;"> Welfare as we know it in modern times took it’s form during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The country was deep in the throes of an economic crisis and for millions the single bowl of soup provided by the local soup kitchens was the only food they had each day. At moments during the depression, the countries unemployment rate dipped to as much as 25%, or one out of every four American men. Women and children suffered the most. A poll taken in 1940 revealed that as many as 1.5 million married women with children were abandoned by their husbands during the depression. An estimated 50% of American children went without adequate food, shelter, and medical care and suffered from rickets as a result. (Feinstein)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.0pt;"> Elected in 1932 and addressing the nation in his 1933 Inaugural address, Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat from the state of New York stated:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> “This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear. . .is fear itself. . . nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves, which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels: taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side, farmers find no markets for their produce, the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. . . . I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States. Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo.” (Roosevelt)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> President Roosevelt kept his inaugural promise, and within the first 100 days of office, presented to Congress his “New Deal” effectively focusing on relief, recovery and reform, which came to be known as the “three R’s,” and still exist today as the framework for all U.S. welfare policy. These programs, often referred to as “Alphabet Soup” due to the number of acronyms, are listed in Figure 1. (Feldmeth)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> In addition to these New Deal programs, the Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) was passed in 1935, falling under Title IV of the Social Security Act and regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of this program was to provide financial assistance to children whose families were unemployed or underemployed, replacing the mother’s aid laws that existed in many states, which was funded mostly by charitable organizations. The new ADC program promised federal funding up to one third of the total cost, and offered social work services to mothers and children in addition to a cash stipend. Sadly, most of the federal oversight that was initially included in the bill was omitted from the final draft. This lack of oversight allowed states to determine which candidates were “suitable” recipients of the money and services, and many states denied candidates based on race, marital status, and to illegitimate children. For over 30 years, state caseworkers were given total license to cut off benefits to those they deemed unsuitable. In addition to this, individual states passed their own provisions to limit the number of ADC recipients. For example, the state of Alabama allowed for the termination of ADC benefits if the mother was found to be cohabitating with a man. Cohabitation as defined by the state of Alabama included all casual relationships with a man, whether or not they were residing together. Because of this, over 16,000 poor children of Alabama were dropped from ADC. The Supreme Court Case of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King v. Smith </i>(1968) challenged this provision. Thankfully, the court struck down the state of Alabama, stating that a woman’s sexual relations were unrelated to Congresses intent of providing aid to needy children. (Daniel, Shepherd, Towey) By the 1970’s several other judicial acts finally removed many of the state revisions placed on the ADC program. During this time period, the federal government changed the name of the ADC program to “Aid to Families with Dependant Children (ADFC)”, hoping that the inclusion of the word “family” in the title would encourage marriage. The ADFC continued to make state level changes on its distribution of services throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. The 1990’s brought much evaluation and criticism of the ADFC program by both scholars and politicians, and it became clear that the New Deal inspired ADFC program was in need of one its self-imposed three R’s; reform. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> Criticisms of the ADFC program included both conservatives and liberals. The Democrats claimed ADFC was too stingy, had too many requirements, carried a social stigma, and was overly denied. Republicans claimed that it encouraged dependency, increased the population of needy children, was a burden on tax -payers and was overly generous. Both parties, as well as the media, spoke of corruption within the social work system that distributed the ADFC benefits. After much political debate, President Bill Clinton signed in 1996, the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act” (PRWORA). The passage of PRWORA effectively changed the welfare system in this country. Before the passage of PRWORA the aim of welfare was to provide assistance to the unemployed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>underemployed needy families of this country, stating that all members of our society under a nationally defined income level were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">entitled</i> to the assistance. After the passage of PRWORA, the aim of welfare was to provide <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">temporary</i> assistance to only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unemployed</i> needy families, with what constitutes “needy” to be determined by each state. President Clinton’s signing of this bill fulfilled his campaign promise to “end welfare as we know it.” The “Temporary Assistance to Needy Families” (TANF) program was instated via PRWORA, and replaced at both the state and federal level the 60 -year old ADFC program. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"> This newly developed TANF program takes federal funding and funnels it to the states, leaving each state to outline and regulate their own detailed welfare programs. This funding is in the form of a block grant, requiring that the state mandate the assistance be “temporary, promote work, self-sufficiency and responsibility.” (State of Michigan) The federal government does not provide TANF assistance directly to individuals or families. The TANF program became the TANF Bureau under the Office of Family Assistance in May of 2006. The goals of TANF are: 1) Assist needy families so that children can be cared for in their own home. 2) Reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. 3) Prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies. 4) Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. The Federal guidelines for TANF require that there is a 60 -month (5 year) time limit allowed for each individual to receive the benefits, however each state can choose to lessen that amount if they desire. Also required is that each recipient with a child over the age of 6 works a 30-hour week, and each recipient with a child under the age of 6 work a 20-hour week. (Welfare Information) Each state takes the TANF funding provided by the federal block grant and creates its state welfare name and agency. For example, in Michigan the program is called the “Family Independence Program” (FIP). In Alabama, the TANF funded program is called “Family Assistance” (FA). Arizona has a crafty acronym for their TANF program: “EMPOWER”, (Employing and Moving people Off Welfare and Encouraging Responsibility.) <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"> Since its implementation in 1996, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of citizens receiving welfare assistance in this country. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that in 1997, 12.3 million Americans received TANF benefits and that in 2010 only 4.4 million Americans received benefits. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) The number of Americans receiving welfare assistance through the old ADFC program peaked in March of 1994 at 14.4 million recipients. (Welfare Information) Clearly, these numbers point to success when it comes to the reduction of persons receiving welfare assistance under the TANF program as opposed to the ADFC program. The PRWORA effectively put the recipients of welfare to work, encouraging a life of independently earned income, thereby greatly reducing the amount of federal dollars spent on the TANF program in comparison to the amount that was spent on the ADFC program. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none;"> While cash assistance to the needy through the TANF program has greatly decreased in the last 15 years, cash assistance to the needy through the U.S. tax system has substantially increased. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is now the largest federal cash transfer program for lower income families, costing the United States $34 billion in 2005 compared to the $24 billion spent on TANF. (Hoynes) The EITC is a refundable tax credit meant to supplement the earnings of low-income workers. In essence, the EITC supports the concept of work and independence by rewarding those who are employed with a financial incentive. Within a set range of eligibility, the more a persons income, the more of a tax credit they receive. This provides incentive to stay working and stay off of the welfare roles. In 2009, many states (including Michigan) added a state level EITC. These state EITC’s are usually about 10% of the federal EITC’s. In 2010, a qualifying family with 3 or more children could expect to earn a credit of $5,666. This money is refundable so that a tax -payer with no federal tax liability would receive a tax refund from the government for the full amount of the credit. (State of Michigan) This is putting money directly into the hands of the poor and disadvantaged while simultaneously rewarding them for work and improved efforts at their workplace. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> While the implementation of TANF and the EITC has reduced the number of US citizens receiving welfare benefits, it has done little to reduce the number of U.S. families living below the poverty line. The United States measures poverty thresholds (or the dollar amount needed to be counted poor by the U.S. Census Bureau) each year. This amount is determined by multiplying the amount deemed necessary to feed a family for one year (as determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture), by three. Any income less than that number (excluding all noncash benefits such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps), is seen as a below poverty level income. (U.S. Poverty) Those receiving incomes this low are considered the underworked. In 2005, the poverty line for a family of five (two adults, three children) was $26,603. The University of Michigan run Gerald R. Ford School of Public policy, which functions as the National Poverty Center, reports a fairly consistent number of Americans living in poverty from the 1980’s through present. <span style="color: #262626;">In 1983, the number of poor individuals was 35.3 million individuals, or 15.2 percent. For the next ten years, the poverty rate remained above 12.8 percent, increasing to 15.1 percent, or 39.3 million individuals, by 1993. The rate declined for the remainder of the decade, to 11.3 percent by 2000. From 2000 to 2004 it rose each year to 12.7 percent in 2004. </span>The U.S. poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent in 2009, bringing the percentage of the population living in poverty to the highest level since 1994. The U.S. Census Bureau said 43.6 million people, or one in seven Americans, lived in poverty in 2009, up from 39.2 million in 1996, the year the PRWORA was signed into effect. (U.S. Census) These numbers show that while poor families may be employed and receiving modest tax credits, they are still living in a state of poverty. Many of the jobs held by the working poor do not provide a fair wage, health benefits, or time off for illness or childcare related emergencies. Also, without the monthly check-ins that TANF social workers provide, many of the working poor remain uninformed as to their eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps or other government programs. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> During the upcoming 2012 Presidential election, the candidates may tout the success of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, and specifically the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the Earned Income Tax Credit program. I expect to hear statistics that show decline in numbers of welfare recipients used as examples of how the government got America working again and claims made that exemplify our social welfare system at it’s best. There are 43.6 million people living below the poverty line in the United States and only 4.4 million are enrolled in the TANF welfare program. What is to become of the other 39.2 million poor American citizens? In 2008-2009 TANF served only 28 families for every 100 living in poverty. (Welfare Information) Clearly TANF and EITC have done nothing to combat poverty in the United States. Scrooge’s suggestions of “prisons and workhouses” were not an acceptable answer in the 1800’s, nor are they today. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">Figure 1 (Feldmeth)<o:p></o:p></div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: -1.1in; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 2.0pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid #6D6D6D 2.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 2.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Act or Program</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Acronym</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Year Enacted</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Significance</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Agricultural Adjustment Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">AAA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Protected farmers from price drops by providing crop subsidies.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Civil Works Administration<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">CWA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Provided public works jobs at $15/week to four million workers in 1934.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Civilian Conservation Corps<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">CCC<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Sent 250,000 young men to work camps to perform reforestation and conservation <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Federal Emergency Relief Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">FERA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Distributed millions of dollars of direct aid to unemployed workers.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Glass-Steagall Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">FDIC<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Created federally insured bank deposits ($2500 per investor at first) to prevent bank failures.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">National Industrial Recovery Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">NIRA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">NRA to enforce codes of fair competition, minimum wages, and to permit collective bargaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">National Youth Administration<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">NYA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1935<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Provided part-time employment to more than two million college and high school students.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Public Works Administration<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">PWA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Received $3.3 billion appropriation from Congress for public works projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Rural Electrification Administration<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">REA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1935<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Encouraged farmers to join cooperatives to bring electricity to farms. .<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Securities and Exchange Commission<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">SEC<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1934<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Regulated stock market and restricted margin buying.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Social Security Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1935<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Provided pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled, dependent children.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Tennessee Valley Authority<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">TVA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1933<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Federal government built series of dams to prevent flooding and sell electricity. <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Wagner Act<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">NLRB<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1935<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Allowed workers to join unions and outlawed union-busting tactics by management.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 137.0pt;" width="137"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Works Progress Administration<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 64.0pt;" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">WPA<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" width="56"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">1935<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 700.0pt;" width="700"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Employed 8.5 million workers in construction and other jobs including arts, theater, literary projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #6D6D6D 1.0pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 632.4pt;" width="632"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Works Cited<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Caputo, Richard, K. <i>U.S. Social Welfare Reform</i>. New York: Springer, 2011. 81-103. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Daniel, N., E. Shepherd, and M Towey. "Case Study of King v. Smith." <i>University of Chicago Law School</i>. (2001): Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Feldmeth, Greg, D. "U.S. History Resources." N.p., 31 Mar 1998. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Feinstein, Stephen. <i>The 1930's: From the Great Depression to the Wizard of Oz</i>. 2nd Revised ed. Berkeley heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2006. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Hearn, Michael. <i>The Annotated Christmas Carol</i>. 1st ed. W.W. Notron and Co, 2004. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Hoynes, Hillary. "The Earned Income Tax Credit, Welfare reform, and the Employment of Low-Skilled single mothers." <i>Paper prepared for Chicago Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Conference on "Strategies for Improving Economic Mobility of Workers"</i>. University of California: Davis, California, 2008. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">Roosevelt, Franklin. "Presidential Speech Archive." <i>Miller Center of Public Affairs</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">State of Michigan. <i>Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)</i>. Lansing, Michigan: State of Michigan, 2011. Web. 16 Jun 2011. <http://www.michigan.gov/taxes/0,1607,7-238-43513-205859--,00.html>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 2pt;">United States. Department of Health and Human Services <i>Administration for Children and Charities</i>. , 2011. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;">United States. <i>U.S. Poverty</i>. , 2011. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 2pt;">United States. <i>Welfare Information</i>. , 2011. Web. 1 Jul 2011. <http://www.welfareinfo.org>.</span><span style="color: #262626; letter-spacing: 2pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Wayne State University, 5229 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202-3930, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-25290511657756768652011-07-10T15:26:00.001-04:002011-07-10T22:06:12.698-04:00Textually Active<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSxJM3OTTZtYXU17oZxDUkzMK3KcyELKvG__rsR4qq_j8_geMDRIeiRfHd5oZrKC22ipWBk05s7a5Sr5YFH2e7UH2F-Yk3jBoO2XNbVxkBfChRGk7We0z22Chzjsz6-m7Hp1ImBdaLd4/s1600/sexting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSxJM3OTTZtYXU17oZxDUkzMK3KcyELKvG__rsR4qq_j8_geMDRIeiRfHd5oZrKC22ipWBk05s7a5Sr5YFH2e7UH2F-Yk3jBoO2XNbVxkBfChRGk7We0z22Chzjsz6-m7Hp1ImBdaLd4/s1600/sexting.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Come home for lunch… I M Hot 4 U.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Sorry, can’t…2 busy. U cum here for BJ in car.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Really?? Wow! I haven’t been this excited in ages!”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Me either! Get here NOW!” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">It certainly isn’t the type of sonnet that would make Shakespeare jealous, but it was enough to lure my friend Dave<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></a> from his home office on a snowy, below zero mid-morning to the parking garage of his wife’s office for a little “afternoon delight.” The message, Dave later told me, was sent via cell phone texting, and was spontaneous and impulsive, which, he added, “was totally ironic since our sex life has been anything <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but</i> spontaneous or impulsive. Linda and I have been married for 11 years, we both work full time and we have three kids under the age of ten. When we go to bed at night, we are too tired and just not interested in sex.” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“Things had gotten pretty dull in that department,” Linda later told me. “That day and that one text -message changed everything. I don’t know what possessed Dave to send that text, but I’m glad he did.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">“I had been thinking about her all morning and just randomly decided to text her,” Dave explained to me. “I was completely surprised it turned out the way it did.” I didn’t ask Dave how it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> turned out in the end; that question might be better left unasked! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I can empathize with Linda and Dave. Sex in middle age and after years of marriage and multiple children <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is </i>different than what it used to be. Long gone are the quiet evening dinners, spent lovingly gazing into one another’s eyes while discussing our hopes and dreams for the future, which, as you can imagine, led to passionate nights in the bedroom. Dinners now are on the fly, jammed in between the kids’ team practices and what I refer to as “homework hell”, that is, the seemingly endless amount of time it takes to help all of the kids with their homework. By bedtime my husband and I are both exhausted and not in the mood for sex. Spelling lists, story problems, and social studies just don’t do much for my libido. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Sexting, however, might be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just</i> the thing for libido. The numbers of middle- aged Americans who text-message via cell phone has increased markedly in the last 5 years. For some, this new form of communication has had little or no effect. For others, it has precipitated a momentous change in work, marriage and social relationships. The examination of changes in marital relationships as a result of “sexting”, a form of text messaging involving sexual innuendo, sexual content, or private terms of endearment, is of interest to many middle-aged couples. These sexual messages sometimes contain explicit sexual photos of the sender, known as wexting, and sometimes they do not. Some couples are fearful sexting leads to “screen infidelity” that is, cheating on one’s spouse via sexting someone outside of the marriage. Others fear sexting leads to actual adultery. Conversely, some married couples enjoy sexting as a way to spice up their marriage, using it as a way to create arousal for later sexual activity, or to create fantasy role-playing. Some married couples use sexting as a silent form of phone sex while their spouses are out of town on business. (We certainly wouldn’t want little Sally to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hear</i> our phone conversation, do we?) This ever expanding list of the possible uses and practices of sexting indicate that more and more middle-aged, heterosexual married couples are using this communication technology as a medium to increase arousal and incite sexual activity either with their spouse, with another person, or with themselves. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">According to RunText, a text message marketing service for businesses, 72% of all cell phone users in 2010 sent or received text messages. The younger you are, the more likely you are to both text and sext. 95% of all cell phone users under the age of 20 report that they text message, sending on average 10 texts per hour during the day. This averages out to 3,000 text messages a month! Sexting was once thought to occur only amongst teens, and their age groups continue to have the highest numbers of admitted sexters. RunText also reports that 9% of the 13-year-olds who text report that they also send sext messages. Sexting increases with age, with 24% of 19–year-old texters reporting that they also sext. Sexting is not just for the kids, however. 28% of the texting parents surveyed admitted that they sext as well! (RunText)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> Parents that sext appear to do so for many reasons. Much like Dave and Linda, Tim and Sally had been in a rut. Unsure if it was fatigue, boredom, or if constantly chasing their three year old twins had sapped all of the “heat” out of the marriage, the two of them shared with me they even though they had tried, no sparks were flying. “We texted everyday while I was at home and he was at work, but it was always completely meaningless stuff like what to pick up from the store, who was going to watch the twins during book club and stuff like that.” Sally shared with me. “Then one day Tim and I had a fight in the morning. He stormed out to work and a few hours later I texted him this marathon text about how he didn’t love me anymore. He texted back how beautiful I was and then things just sparked from there. We sent probably 100 texts that day, each one getting increasingly more sexual in nature. By the time Tim got home from work we were ready to rip each other’s clothes off. Now we send each other racy messages a lot. I would never send a naked picture or anything, but on Fridays, I love sending him messages all day to get him turned on.” Sally and Tim say that sexting is a regular part of their sex life now, calling it their own version of foreplay. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> Jill and Ian also consider sexting to be regular part of their married life, and have discovered a new fantasy outlet because of it. Ian and Jill enjoy taking on character personas in their sexting messages, and then they stay “in character” during sex. While Jill could not remember how and when it started, Ian had no problem recalling in great detail the movie and sexting that started it all. “We had been watching a James Bond movie marathon on TV, and the next day I texted her at the office saying I was Bond, James Bond,” said Ian. “We kept is up all week and that Saturday night I had to wear a tux for a black tie charity event, and so we just kept playing the game, all the way to the bedroom. It was great sex, and fun. Since then we have been Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, a pimp and his whore and even a soldier and a nurse. Sexting out the characters during the week really helps us get into the roles we are playing and by Friday or Sat night.” Sally and Ian have since become regular customers at the local sex shop, purchasing costumes and other props that help to complete their sexting inspired characters. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">While couples like Jill and Ian use sexting to spice up their sex life, or to provide a new way to spark the flame, other couples like Jim and Anne feel that sexting actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is </i>their sex life. Jim, who works for a global communication company, travels away from home three weeks out of each month. His home office is even located in another state. Anne, who stays at home with the couple’s three children, only sees Jim on the occasional weekend that he is not out of the country. Because of this, Anne and Jim have a lot of phone sex. “Sometimes, its just easier to sext each other,” Anne shared with me. “I send him a picture or two to start things off, and then we sext each other until we cant take it any more. We take turns getting ourselves off, while the other one sends pictures and words to help. “ Both Anne and Jim admit they would rather have traditional intercourse then this type of sex. Jim admitted “I am surrounded by sex every day, especially in the Asian countries I travel to. By the end of the day I have seen prostitutes on the street and escorts in the office. I am tempted constantly to have an affair, and I don’t want to do that. I need to get off to release my tension and desires, and Anne sexting me helps a lot.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Sometimes, couples are not as committed to remaining faithful to each other as Jim and Anne are, and sexting can be a conduit to an extramarital affair. This affair can exist purely on screen, that is, the two may send each other sexual messages and images via computer or cell phone and use these images to arouse themselves for self stimulation, much in the same way a porn or erotic literature is used. This is known as screen infidelity, as the two people never actually physically touch one another. Some argue that screen infidelity is not actually infidelity at all, as no adultery has occurred. Sometimes, married people feel more comfortable sending a flirtatious text message than actually flirting in person. These texts can lead to sexts, which can lead to actual hook ups, that is, meeting for the sole purpose of having sex, which constitutes adultery, or an extramarital affair. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Steve, a 58-year-old building contractor has been married to Sara for 32 years. Their children are grown and now live on their own. Sadly, Sara has been bedridden with advanced stage Multiple Sclerosis for the last 15 years. Steve doesn’t want to be unfaithful to Sara, but also has needs as well. In an interesting twist to the situation, Steve admitted to me that he has been a closeted homosexual his entire life. “When I was younger, I felt that I was some kind of a freak. My parents were from the old country and there was no way they would ever be able to deal with me being gay. I decided at 22 that I would live a normal life. It was ok, and I don’t regret having my kids or anything like that. But now that I haven’t had sex in so many years, I can’t get rid of all the thoughts and feelings I have for men.” Steve shared with me that he watches gay porn, and has two gay friends that know his situation and that sext him to help him get off. I didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask him if he intends to come out of the closet when Sara passes, but I suspect he will. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Steve’s situation has yet to result in adultery, or intercourse. Sometimes, however, sexting outside of the marriage does lead to adultery. Bob and Elle had been married for 13 years, when their marriage ended in divorce after Elle discovered Bob had been having an affair for over two years with a woman from his office. “He used to get text messages on his cell phone all of the time, and he even started sleeping with his phone under his pillow. That’s when I started to suspect the texts were not just work related, like he always said they were. Thankfully, the cell phone bill is in my name, and I was able to get 24 hours worth of text messages sent to me in print from our wireless company. I was shocked and so mad. The sexts talked about his penis, and how much she loved it. It was over the top.” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I think it is fairly safe to say that no married couple wants their marriage to end in the same way Bob and Elle’s did. Finding that a partner was unfaithful and dishonest is painful and humiliating. One could argue that sexting did not cause the affair, it merely helped it along. There are no statistics yet that can decisively point to sexting as a leading predictor of infidelity. Sexting, much like porn, internet sex sites, and erotic literature arouses the senses and can make one more receptive to engaging in sex, whether that be with a spouse, a screen acquaintance, or a friend. The actual consummation of sex is ultimately within the control of its participants, not of the technology that led them to it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Given the number of teens and young adults sexting, I predict that as this segment of the population ages and marries, the incidence of sexting amongst middle-aged married adults will increase. The practice may even come to be encouraged by the church and marriage counselors as a way to maintain a healthy, faithful sex life with one’s spouse. Until then, some couples will continue to explore the uses and practices of sexting both within their marriages, and in some cases, outside of it. </div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7225491533078345582#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></a> This, as well as all other names mentioned, has been changed to protect identity and privacy.</div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px;">"Text messaging Statistics in 2010."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px;"><i>RunText</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 2px;">2010: n. pag. Web. 4 Jul 2011. <http://runtext.com/text-message-statistics-in-2010/>.</span></div></div></div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-79702081730807322322011-07-08T04:16:00.001-04:002011-07-08T04:26:40.785-04:00Practical Technology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXJ84v66yuYvzXHt9Sqk36PS8PlQSIOVovK20G9851AfQl4hp2FbFFJsWBHSVJlcLP8SQ99Tx6yFB8IaNr6-dXBIS4UYZGOUvnM5NFfX6SfQGMSAN_dnFTgF2xIO-HJEldJxyO2wCHog/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXJ84v66yuYvzXHt9Sqk36PS8PlQSIOVovK20G9851AfQl4hp2FbFFJsWBHSVJlcLP8SQ99Tx6yFB8IaNr6-dXBIS4UYZGOUvnM5NFfX6SfQGMSAN_dnFTgF2xIO-HJEldJxyO2wCHog/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At some point in the last 150 years, life moved from being fairly simple to being quite complicated. I’m not really sure if it was the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800’s or the World Wars of the 1900’s that did it, but somewhere along the line we changed from a world that focuses on people and the relationships they have with each other and the land they live on, to a world that focuses on science, discovery, and making peoples lives easier and faster. The ever-present race for the development of new technologies (the application of science for practical purposes), dominates all developed cultures today. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"> A recent 4- day power-outage in my neighborhood shed some light on just how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">impractical </i>some of the new “technologies” are. Almost every techno device developed in the last 50 years was of no use to me during the power outage. Microwaves, computers, televisions, cordless phones, cell phones, washers and dryers, water heaters, alarm systems, air conditioning and even food refrigeration were all unavailable, and therefore useless to me, because of their dependence on electricity, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">It is during these types of extreme situations that one can slow down the hectic pace of our modern life, and take stock of our surroundings. After my children retreated to bed the 3<sup>rd</sup> evening of the power outage, I had time to sit in my candle lit living room and think about the day’s events. The loss of our cell phone usage had meant we actually talked to one another several times during the day, rather than the usual quick text messages we had become accustomed to. Or meal was composed of raw, fresh summer fruits and vegetables, which were delicious. The absence of television and video games forced us to seek other forms of evening entertainment, and a candlelit card game was enjoyed by all. The lack of air-conditioning prompted us to open our house windows and the pitch black of a street with no lights enhanced the viewing of the many summertime lightening bugs glowing in our yard. I fell asleep happily to the sound of crickets and cicadas, and felt deeply relaxed. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The power outage brought to me a realization that the technologies of yore, before the age of science and discovery, could arguably be more practical to humanity. I was certainly grateful for my manual can opener, screens in my windows, a book of matches, the simple locks on my doors, the utensils I ate with, and the entertainment of a deck of cards. My family benefited from the time spent “unplugged” from the very things meant to make their lives less stressful. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Thanks to the local electric company repairman, we are back to full power now. Electricity restored means full steam ahead in the rushed paced plugged in and wired life of a normal 21<sup>st</sup> century family. I cannot deny that I am happy to have the dishwasher, microwave and my computer back. These technologies, while impractical, have made my life easier. Yet, somehow, I hope our family has at least one more night this summer of cards, talking, and the listening to the sound of crickets. </div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com0Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA42.3758708 -82.93741590000001942.3545178 -82.961447400000026 42.3972238 -82.913384400000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-21684254811743633692011-06-27T13:35:00.000-04:002011-06-27T13:35:25.463-04:00Working Magic at the Fireworks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxnkUGy1Ud2Ru-qu671nsUy5klaUlcJTuI2SXlYBkcUp8X4JH58hb0eiamCdUUmK_uaye1At-6vlSyzuCt864Ms2Kegy9DY98HQSrHbFJ9kUPH5E1ueNMdeJ0T6eh-7rGULsUJFsHkP4/s1600/kon_fireworks-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxnkUGy1Ud2Ru-qu671nsUy5klaUlcJTuI2SXlYBkcUp8X4JH58hb0eiamCdUUmK_uaye1At-6vlSyzuCt864Ms2Kegy9DY98HQSrHbFJ9kUPH5E1ueNMdeJ0T6eh-7rGULsUJFsHkP4/s400/kon_fireworks-thumb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As an older, full time college student, and mother of 5, I can’t help but to compare myself to the younger, “freer” students who surround me everyday in class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I often think of the quiet, cozy apartments in which my imagination has created as their residences, and lament my 5- bedroom monster of a house that is continually abuzz with activity, noise, and chaos. I envision these young students in shabby –chic lofts with vintage furniture, Oxford- like architecture of stone masonry, and studio kitchens with appliances and hardware from the 1950’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lack of commitments, obligations and children must afford these students with countless hours of quiet free time to write, study, read and ponder the mysteries of the world while drinking steeped tea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While my mind knows this is nothing but a bohemian fantasy, my heart longs for at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> of it to be true. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In stark contrast to these students of my imagination, my life is busy, loud, and very fast paced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My children, ranging from ages 6-15, are involved in multiple sports that require travel, sometimes just to the other side of town and sometimes to other states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These sports, which require daily practices, are often coached by my husband, thereby removing him from the house and carpooling duties necessary to maintain the schedules of whichever children he is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> coaching at the moment. In addition to the sports, there are orthodontist appointments, tutoring sessions, music lessons, doctor’s appointments and all else that goes with raising healthy, well-rounded children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adding to the perceived chaos are home maintenance issues such as laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking and gardening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us also not forget the obligatory school conferences, parent volunteer “opportunities” and religious traditions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just making this list of day- to- day activities raises my stress levels. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">At times I feel my very being is the eye of a tornado and the requirements and obligations of my life are swirling around me in a vortex of force and might, together leaving a path of destruction in our wake. Finding the time and energy and creative fortitude to study, think and learn in a peaceful, Zen-inspired environment is just not possible in the eye of a tornado.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for that very reason, I have chosen to embrace the noise, pace, and activity level of my family and create within the chaos my own little slice of “Oxfordish” academia. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">This weekend was one of “those” weekends in our family life that consisted of a line-up of seemingly never-ending obligations and social commitments. Upon leaving class early Friday afternoon, my schedule for the rest of the day included attending a charitable play performance with clients of my husband, and chauffeuring the kids to two different baseball practices at two different locations, while my husband coached a third child at yet another location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday’s schedule was no better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three of the children had morning swim practice; two children had double-headers (different kids-different locations) while another child had a championship baseball game at yet another location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday evening brought another client obligation for my husband that socially required my smiling, happy -faced attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunday came and went in another flurry of activity of baseball games and practices, and finally ended with the annual fireworks display in my community, which has become a traditional event for our family. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">When, you may ask, did this full time student have time to study, read, write or even think? This is where I have to work my magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a matter of fact, I even have a wand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my friends, who felt it would require sheer magic for me to juggle my life<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> and</i> going back to school full time, purchased for me a beautiful resin replica of Hermione’s wand. (Hermione of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter </i>series.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">)</i> While I have yet to make sparks fly from the wand, and have no magical time turner, I have been able to mentally be in two places at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I listen to Biology podcasts while driving the kids to and from practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read books and watch my children’s baseball games at the same time. I have downloaded textbooks on my kindle and read them in doctor’s offices, and I have written papers and blogs while watching swim meets. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Sunday evening, while surrounded by at least 1000 people reveling and picnicking to celebrate the community fireworks, I wrote up a psychology lab on my laptop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed watching my kids laugh and toss a football while waiting for the fireworks to begin, and seconds later returned to the quiet ivy covered halls of my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realized then that maybe I don’t have it so bad after all. I had spent the day with my kids, soaking up the late June sunshine at their ball games and later while watching them swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had accomplished all of my assigned reading and writing, and I even drank steeped tea from a packed thermos while doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someday I do hope to get to Oxford, but for now, this is just fine. </div><!--EndFragment--> </div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com3Wayne State University, 5229 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202-3930, USA42.3574737 -83.06700999999998242.3471872 -83.081287999999986 42.3677602 -83.052731999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-34497062346766669452011-06-27T00:54:00.000-04:002011-06-27T00:54:45.778-04:00Textually Active<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb-qBIa592T-jlJsNmEEoQcNAx8ZA8hK3xQcbVIUBOQt6AUj1XH7NM4I-3atclRBAFN2yV4Z7UJyMZc6TINSi3fI_aen0bKgVXDBR2x390M2wBhCO2y052u8jyhUta-Icr9XZglRQKdY/s1600/sexting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb-qBIa592T-jlJsNmEEoQcNAx8ZA8hK3xQcbVIUBOQt6AUj1XH7NM4I-3atclRBAFN2yV4Z7UJyMZc6TINSi3fI_aen0bKgVXDBR2x390M2wBhCO2y052u8jyhUta-Icr9XZglRQKdY/s1600/sexting.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The numbers of middle aged Americans who text-message via cell phone has increased markedly in the last 5 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some, this new form of communication has had little effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For others, it has represented a momentous change in work, marriage and social relationships. The examination of changes in marital relationships as a result of “sexting”, a form of text messaging, is of interest to many middle aged couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some are fearful sexting leads of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“screen infidelity” that is, cheating on one’s spouse via sexting someone outside of the marriage. Others fear sexting leads to actual adultery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conversely, some married couples enjoy sexting as a way to spice up their marriage, using it as a way to create arousal for later sexual activity, or to create fantasy role-playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some married couples use sexting as a silent form of phone sex while their spouses are out of town on business. (We certainly don’t want little Sally to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hear</i> our phone conversation, do we?) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my upcoming cultural analysis, I will explore these, and many other uses of sexting, as well as comment on whether social change has occurred as a result of this communication technology among middle-aged, heterosexual married couples with two or more children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">This analysis of technology and a well -defined cultural group will not be an empirical one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data has been collected in the very non-scientific manner of conversations, observation and unstructured, casual mentions on social networking sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given this relaxed format, I will take a subjective, involved approach to authoring the analysis. I am a member of this sub-culture of middle-aged married community, and myself have experiences and opinions to share on the topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I expect my audience will be those who also consider themselves members of this sub-culture, but might possibly also include those who sext on a regular basis, including the young, old, single or homosexual. I hope to provide these potential audiences with new information on the use of sexting, and to spark conversations between couples on issues such as screen infidelity, adultery, open marriages and improving marital sexual relationships. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I have gathered quite a bit of data via interviews for this analysis, but have yet to decide which other sources to include.</div><!--EndFragment--> </div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225491533078345582.post-44438462377859597402011-06-22T01:01:00.000-04:002011-06-22T01:01:49.341-04:00Sexting in the Mini-Van<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-xTCL_vyPsn6cKsK7RMfRoLKEHrI_F7iAqIU0QHkj7c04gXyIPvQNkJLOBP7eDAOWSb2smeR7DwIxeZUV2oDu1tSYbzqDYu1PbOUmlHDaLC5-QTlxzFNHt1lOKoNSaoIwHKA643sL6A/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-xTCL_vyPsn6cKsK7RMfRoLKEHrI_F7iAqIU0QHkj7c04gXyIPvQNkJLOBP7eDAOWSb2smeR7DwIxeZUV2oDu1tSYbzqDYu1PbOUmlHDaLC5-QTlxzFNHt1lOKoNSaoIwHKA643sL6A/s400/images.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">One viewing of a Chrysler Town and Country mini-van commercial and you will easily be able to visualize my chosen cultural group for the upcoming cultural analysis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure if you have the picture yet? Then imagine a sporty looking middle-aged mom and dad with a boatload of children piling into the family mini-van, on their way to a soccer game, or maybe even a weekend road trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The family looks upper middle class, as everyone is dressed in the latest from Lands End and just came out of a two-story brick colonial with shutters and a basketball hoop above the garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly family is a priority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Why else would anyone with so many children look so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">happy</i>?) Don’t’ forget the golden retriever! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Ranging from affluent to middle class, married, heterosexual couples who have been together for at least 10 years and have a minimum of 2 children will be the microcosm of culture that I plan to focus my cultural analysis on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds boring, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here comes the good part; I will be analyzing that cultures use of sexting as a means to achieve one of three defined purposes: to spice up ones sexual marital relations, to have a “screen only” affair outside of the marriage, or to spark a sexual physical affair outside of the marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">While I am not hoping for any ‘Desperate Housewives” style drama, I am optimistic that I might increase awareness about the definition of extramarital affairs within this sub-culture. I also hope to draw a conclusion about the use of this texting technology, and whether it has helped to strengthen or harm marital sexual relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look out Wisteria Lane, I am ready to get started! </div><!--EndFragment--> </div>Amy Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07254010327389745487noreply@blogger.com3Grosse Pointe, MI, USA42.3861485 -82.91185910000001542.361484 -82.93045260000001 42.410813 -82.893265600000021