Nichols

Talcott Nichols
Professor Rines
UWRT 1101
05 April 2015
Micro Ethnography: Pottery Classes

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 1:42 PM

Deleted: 18 March

There is a lot more to Pottery Classes than merely learning how to make pots. Pottery
classes are more of a community than you might realize. Using Swales six characteristics of a
discourse community I will show how this pottery class is a discourse community.
Walking into the pottery studio there were in-progress pots everywhere. The shelves
where students kept these unfinished pots were lining the walls. Each piece of pottery was
covered with plastic to help keep them from drying out. In the center of the room were two rows
of four electric pottery wheels facing each other with a large table in the center and another two
wheels off to either end. While interviewing the teacher, Leeroy*, I asked him if the class was
setup this way to encourage conversation and idea sharing. He responded, Yes, mostly that is

Talcott Nichols 4/15/2015 10:20 AM

Comment [1]: one
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:45 PM
Comment [2]: Remember, your audience
may not know Swales. Make sure you
introduce him and his text prior to analysis.
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:45 PM
Comment [3]: As a reader, I want there to
be more to this introduction. Why pottery
classes? Why do we care if this pottery class is
a discourse community?
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:59 PM
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Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 1:44 PM
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the case, and the other part is that I sit on the edge of the table and help each student individually
and I think that helps [. . .] other people be able to see what Im showing them as well as for
them to help each other, show each other ideas across the table.

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 5:21 PM

Deleted: people,

The way the class is setup also aids with the general goals of the class. With my only
reference being movies, other various outsider media, and my personal concepts prior to this
study, the goals of a pottery class are to teach new comers how to make various types of pottery.
Swales says a discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. (Swales
220) After observing and interviewing a student and teacher, I now believe it is much more than
that. During the first session I observed, which started at 6:30pm, I noticed that a couple students

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 5:39 PM

Deleted: and
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:47 PM
Comment [4]: So this was your assumption
prior to your data collection? That is not clear
to the reader.
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 5:50 PM
Deleted: this is still the case,
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:47 PM
Comment [5]: What is it? What claim are
you trying to make here?

 Nichols 2

came in late wearing business attire. For them, pottery class seemed to be a way to unwind of
after a long day at work. Leeroy* had also mentioned that most of the students worked jobs in
which after a long day they had nothing to show for it, Banking, Admin, etc., and that pottery
allowed them to create something with their hands. So while yes, the goal of the class is to learn
to make pottery, it is also much more for some people.
Pottery class has a very social atmosphere in-class and there are also other avenues of
social interaction outside of class. As I mentioned before, the class setup promotes this.

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:48 PM

Comment [6]: How do you know this?
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 1:44 PM
Deleted: Jack

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:48 PM

Comment [7]: So then what is the goal of
this class? Be explicit.
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 2:04 PM
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According to Swales a discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its

members. (Swales 221) While observing class I heard a couple of students ask others if they
were going to the Guild meeting. Asking Leeroy* about this he said, In Charlotte there is
Guild of [. . .] people who are interested in pottery, either for selling or learning more about it. [.

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:48 PM

Comment [8]: These aspects of Swales do
not seem integrated into your paper but
rather stuck in there. Make sure you integrate
them and make sure the reason for including
them is clear to the reader.

. .] They meet once a month and usually have a presentation where someone shows something

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 1:45 PM

Deleted: Jack

they enjoy doing with clay. There was also talk of a Potters Conference in which Leeroy* said,

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:19 PM

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In Asheboro, NC there is the NC Potters Conference is held first weekend in March every year.

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:19 PM

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This year was the 28th year of that conference. There are certainly other potters conferences in

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 1:45 PM

Deleted: Jack

other locations. [. . .] Potters in various areas like to get together and exchange ideas and the NC
Potters Conference there are potters that were brought in from different places from all over the
world to demonstrate and show what they do to typically about 150 people who are observing.
Outside of class there are a couple of ways students and teachers can communicate and share
ideas.
A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide
information and feedback. (Swales 221) Pottery classes are participatory by nature. In order to
learn you have to go, listen, and try over and over. The way this class atmosphere is setup, the

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:26 PM

Deleted: (
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:26 PM
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Talcott Nichols 3/22/2015 7:41 AM
Comment [9]: I need to shorten this quote.
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:50 PM
Comment [10]: This should be formatted
as a block quote. See Purdue Owl for more
information.
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:33 PM
Deleted: So o
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:50 PM
Comment [11]: So what are the methods
of intercommunication? Be explicit.
Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 2:06 PM
Deleted: is

 Nichols 3

more experienced or comfortable students start working immediately as the teacher works with
the new students. When any student has a question, the teacher will go and work with them
individually. This is a great idea that both gives the students freedom to work on what they want
while also allowing them to receive individual assistance. It was noted by one of the students,
which was working on a sculpture from a class focused of sculpting, that it seemed like the
sculpting teacher purposely structured their class so that students would have to take another
class to receive the information to finish their sculpture. It was also brought to my attention by
another observer that the teacher of this pottery class gives out his knowledge freely and wants
others to have as much of it as possible.
While this student was working on the sculpture, they were referencing a book written by
the teacher of the class. There are many instructional and idea books for pottery. A discourse
community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of
its aims. (Swales 221) Although these books are not mandatory to perform well in pottery, they
do help increase ones knowledge of pottery techniques.
In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired a specific lexis.

Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:47 PM

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Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 2:07 PM
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Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:40 PM
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Talcott Nichols 4/6/2015 7:51 AM
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Talcott Nichols 4/5/2015 6:48 PM
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Olivia 4/9/2015 5:51 PM
Comment [12]: So the pottery class is
better because it is not like the sculpting
class?
Olivia 4/9/2015 5:52 PM
Comment [13]: Again, you are not being
explicit as to how the pottery class fits Swales
criteria.
Talcott Nichols 3/22/2015 8:31 AM
Comment [14]: Need to ask Mrs. Rines
about how to use this source.
Olivia 4/9/2015 6:01 PM
Comment [15]: Is this really the only
genre?

(Swales 222) During the first session I observed there were many words and phrases said that I
had never heard of especially in this context. I was lucky to pick a session in which there were
two new students. At the start of the class the teacher went around the room asking all of the
students which type of clay they would like. I heard responses such as 710, 112, 266, Earth and
Red, and Brown Stone clay. When the teacher asked a new student which clay they would like,
they jokingly just repeated what one of the other students had said saying Ill take the 710. It
was almost as if they were saying I have no idea what that is. There were also other words and
phrases said that had a different meaning that I did not know such as bisque fired, cone 10, bat,

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:53 PM

Comment [16]: This is a very interesting
observation.

 Nichols 4

slip, glaze, and Snoopy tool. For a new student this may seem overwhelming, but like any new
setting it takes some getting used to. In a community like this I believe it is easier for new
students since experienced students are willing to teach and help each other out.
Each class had a maximum of 10 students that could sign up. Since both classes I
observed were the first of the eight-week session, students had introduced themselves. The

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:53 PM

Comment [17]: Okay, so what purpose
does this lexis serve? How does it help this
class achieve the status of discourse
community?

amount of experience in the room had ranged anywhere from >40 years (Teacher) to ~13 years
and on down through to brand-new. During the class the more experienced students would also
help the less experienced with minor questions and/or ideas. A discourse community has a
threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.
(Swales 222)
Using the six characteristics of a discourse community, as defined by John Swales, this
pottery class can be classified as a discourse community. It would be interesting to look at a

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:54 PM

Comment [18]: This quote is just dropped
into your paragraph here, with no apparent
reason. It might work better at the beginning.

Potters Conference, which is probably comprised of many members of different pottery classes,
and see how that helps perpetuate similarities between pottery classes around the globe.

Olivia 4/9/2015 5:55 PM

Comment [19]: This conclusion needs to
be extended to discuss not only what you
learned but how the pottery class fits the
Swales' criteria.

 Nichols 5

Works Cited
Swales, John. The Concept of Discourse Community. Genre Analysis: English is Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990. 21-32. Print.

Notes:
*Leeroy is not the teachers real name as he wishes to remain anonymous.
This is a strong draft, and I really enjoyed learning about your discourse community. In order to
improve, I would consider the following suggestions. First, you need to be explicit in all the
claims that you are making. There were parts of your paper that seemed to dance around ideas or
claims but never stated them directly. Second, I also feel like you could push your analysis a bit
further. Right now, some of your information seems to be a bit surface-level. You have these
short paragraphs that are only a few sentences. The analysis of these ideas should be deeper and
should include more detail. Third, I would like to see you incorporate your data more. You
frequently made claims but they werent always supported by information from your
interviewees or from your observations. Make sure the reader knows where you are getting your
information.
The following is the rubric for the assignment, including what you would have received had this
draft been your final draft. This grade will not be recorded anywhere. It is simply a chance for
you to see where you stand.

Talcott Nichols 4/6/2015 8:16 AM

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... [1]

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Olivia 4/9/2015 5:44 PM

Comment [20]: I would put this as a
footnote rather than an endnote.