Gee and Cuddy also have opposing views on the actual being of Discourse. In his article, Gee states that “someone cannot engage in a Discourse in a less than fluent manner” (Gee, 9). Here, he is saying that people can either be a part of a Discourse, or not at all, there is no faking, there is no halfway, there just is or isn’t. He does say that there are ways of faking being in a Discourse, such as “mushfake, resistance, and meta-knowledge” (Gee, 13), but that they can’t be relied on, because those within a Discourse are able to easily pick out the fakers. In short, Gee believes that being found out as a faker is the be-all end-all, that if they are caught faking, they will never be a part of the Discourse. Amy Cuddy is a perfect counter example for Gee’s point. During her college years, she got into a terrible accident, and as a result, her IQ dramatically dropped. People kept telling her, “you’re not going to finish college. Just, you know, there are other things for you to do, but that’s not going to work out for you” (Cuddy). What kept her going, through her entire ordeal was “fake it ‘till you become it.” (Cuddy). There were many times where she was recognized, or she believed she was recognized, for being an outsider to this Discourse. However, after years of faking it, she finally became it, when she was teaching a student who she was able to relate to. Her being recognized as the faker didn’t stop her from becoming part of the Discourse, in fact I would argue that it gave her even stronger motivation to persevere. I believe that faking and being recognized as someone who isn’t as experienced in the Discourse are all an essential part of becoming part of an existing Discourse. Of course someone trying to enter a Discourse isn’t going to know all of the nuances, so in order for them to learn and to become part of the Discourse, they have to make mistakes and get corrected. Even in Cuddy’s case, where she was trying to re-enter a Discourse, and having to re-learn the Discourse, and gain her self-confidence back, she was still able to work through her struggles and get to where she wanted to be. According to Gee, Cuddy wouldn’t have been able to make it back into the Discourse, as she was was apparently incapable of engaging fluently in the Discourse any longer. But, counter to Gee, Cuddy was able to use the devises that Gee had said would be counter intuitive to entering a Discourse, and succeeded.
Throughout our lifetimes, we enter many Discourses with different individuals, groups, or societies. According to Gee, as time goes on it gets harder and harder, even going on to impossible, to join a Discourse. In saying that “Discourses are ways of being in the world; they are forms of life” (Gee, 6), James Gee is saying that, since it is difficult, if not impossible, to change one’s way of life, it is that difficult to enter into a new Discourse. This holds true for cultural, regional, or racial Discourse, however in the more social Discourses, such as at a job, in school, as a friend, or member of a club or sport, Gee’s idea isn’t as valid. It is, indeed, very difficult to integrate into a Discourse already well established, but I would argue that it isn’t as impossible as Gee makes it seem. For example, Amy Cuddy had a student one year, who had come to her, feeling like she didn’t belong in the class. Cuddy’s reaction to her was a combination of two things. “One was that I realized, oh my gosh, I don’t feel like that anymore. I don’t feel that anymore, but she does, and I get that feeling. And the second was, she is supposed to be here! Like, she can fake it, she can become it. So I was like, “Yes, you are! You are supposed to be here! And tomorrow you’re going to fake it, you’re going to make yourself powerful” Cuddy’s idea on Discourse was that everything takes time and effort, but it isn’t impossible. People just have to persevere through difficult times and self-doubt, but in the end, the goal will be reached. I agree more with her point. Although it might be difficult to change a way of life, to enter a Discourse, there are plenty of examples and situations that people have had to fake their way through a situation, and end up being able to successfully join the Discourse.
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