Through comparing and contrasting three major articles by James Gee, June Jordan and Lisa Delpit, it is evident that they all (in one way or another) have different views on one common issue of which sparked their interests in writing these articles to begin with. In all three works it is clear that Gee, Delpit and Jordan take issue in subjects revolving around a person’s dominant discourse and further demonstrating how it can conflict with or benefit one’s “personal identity”. In Gee’s article, Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, he explains that Discourses are, “ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities”, he goes on to say that Discourses are “identity kits” that explain who we are and why we act the way we do (6). Furthermore, Gee extends on this idea of a Discourse by describing its different branches, one of them being a dominant Discourse. Moreover, a dominant Discourse is one that “brings with it the (potential) acquisition of social goods (money, prestige, status, etc.)” (Gee 8). Gee argues that one’s identity that is formed through the teachings of their dominant Discourse, can be very difficult to change when trying to acquire more discourses. However, I think non-dominant Discourses can be altered and or built on with information that is clearer to the person without changing one’s identity.

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