Module 5

Module 5: Discourse Communities
Step 1- Create a meme or short video including you and another known
figure.
Step 2-Watch Adichies talk on single stories. Write a 250 word response to
the questions.
A single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not
that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. I think this quote from
Adichies talk really impacted me because I understand the frustration that
stereotyping can lead to. The dangers of just listening to a single story about a
person or a place is that we tend to reach a critical misunderstanding. Single stories
reduce these misunderstood cultures and people into one single stereotype. For
some, according to Adichie it can be amusing and not important, but for others it is
hurtful. This is one downside to only listening to one side of a story that is very
broad and more in depth than many of us think. During my life I have dealt with
many instances where even my family members stick to one single story without
listening to my thoughts on the matter. An example is that my whole family is
Chinese while I am adopted into this Chinese family. The only facts I know about
my origin is that my biological father is Hispanic, and my biological mother is
Chinese. That is all yet my adoptive mother (I still treat her as my real mom),
undermines Hispanics all the time and thinks that they are not helping the economy
at all. Her words affect me because I have many Hispanic friends from high school
as well as new ones in college. I have immersed myself and experienced Hispanic
culture too and enjoyed how welcoming and loving they are towards people. What
my mom does not understand is that even though Hispanics seem to be carefree to
her and not suffering from hardships they are. Some must deal with their families
being torn apart because half may still be in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, or
Argentina while the rest had the chance to settle down in America and become
citizens. Undocumented Hispanics immigrants now are facing the fear of
deportation back to the bad conditions they wanted to escape from in Mexico.
Most of it because of most Americans supporting these deportations and voicing
how they are not helping at all. Yet, most of the buildings and apartments around
urban areas are most likely built by Hispanic labor. Cleaners or even maids that are
hired are usually Hispanics too. There is still a lot to be learned in society about
different cultures and the threat of single stories makes it even more harder for the
spread of overlapping stories to be spread. For my research topic there mistakes the
UN and the United States make in accepting single stories. An example would be
the conflict in Afghanistan. Remember that time when President George W. Bush
wanted to investigate on weapons of mass destruction in their country? Was that
just an excuse to start something with the Middle Eastern countries? Also, those
instances where special missions were put into place where the United States
Military ended up producing weapons for these Middle Eastern countries at one
point. Their hope was for them to stand on the United States side if a conflict did
happen. Also remember that time when America sided with Saddam Hussein?
News outlets now try to come off as how much we hate and have always hated
these Islamic militants, yet in history we once helped them and provided them with
the very weapons they are using against our military. It is very important to
understand the importance of listening and researching multiple stories on all sides
rather than only listen to one story. It prevents misunderstandings and stereotypes.
Step 3- Read in Re:Composing What is it my Business?. In journal write a

250 word paragraph on why it is important to write and talk about difficult
topics.
It is very important for us as writers and readers to care about the difficult
and sad topics in this world. The reason being that if others dont care enough it
would be the same few people telling these stories and as Adichie in her talk said,
Single stories promote stereotypes. The more stories told on these topics the
more people understand and know about these difficult topics. The world gets
more points of views on the topic, versus the same few Holocaust Survivors telling
their survival stories from their points of views. I think my topic is as difficult as
the Holocaust topic in What is it My Business? My research paper will focus on
the difficult things amongst global conflicts like Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide of
ethnic races. The thing that would be the most challenging is making my paper
include my own thoughts on the topic. Since sometimes when I include my
thoughts it can make the paper come out to be longer than it should be. Yet being
concise about the topic is also very important to me. Another challenge I will face
in writing this research essay is coming up with more subtopics to include so that
different sides of why ethnic cleansing occurs can be included. It is hard to be
brave enough to tackle writing about a difficult subject, but it helps audiences
around us care about the subjects we write about. Not every person will agree with
your views on the topic you write about, just be prepared for that. Dont let
difficult obstacles stop you from writing about a topic you are passionate about!
Get your ideas across because that is the uniqueness of being a writer.

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Module 5: Discourse Communities

Step 3- Read in Re:Composing What is it my Business?. In journal write a

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