For starters, as I mentioned above, Gee hardly believes in being able to join a group. Throughout his text he uses the term Discourse to describe the criteria an individual must obtain in order to be accepted by a given group of individuals. He explains Discourses as “ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions, and clothes” (Gee, 6-7). Overall he is stating that Discourses are the identity kits that make you who you are, that allows you to join others that are exactly like you. Without the right attire, word choice and much more you’ll be flagged as a want to be or worse as a pretender. And once flagged as a fake you will never be let into the group. Like Gee said, “Lack of fluency marks you as a non-member… In fact, the lack of fluency may very well mark you as a pretender… And you can’t be let into the game after missing the apprenticeship and be expected to have a fair shot at playing” (Gee, 10). The apprenticeship that he refers to is acquired when an individual is young. Gee believes that if one isn’t taught the Discourse when young, it is impossible to join. Which I don’t agree with after reading Cuddy’s work.
In contrast, Cuddy’s main concept is about faking it until you make or become it. She believes that this is one of the ways that someone can be included into societies groups. This can be seen by her experimentation of power posing, that by simply pretending to obtain higher power it had positive effects on acceptance. She saw how striking a high-power pose increased testosterone and decreased cortisol and presented the individuals as more confident. This confidence allowed for the individual to come off as better suited no matter the situation, allowing them to become apart of the group. In an example where individuals are forced to strike a pose before a job interview the high-power posers are chosen. They are chosen because the individual is able to “bring their true selves… They bring their ideas, but as themselves, with no residue over them” (Cuddy, 13:19). The confidence given to them allows them to be more calm and reassured, better presenting not only the information but themselves. And due to this they are able to join the Discourse, in this particular position the designated job. This shows how one is able to fake power for a minute or two before a given evaluation and join a Discourse, that Gee claims to be nearly impossible. Even though this was a simple task that wasn’t even carried throughout, it had life changing effects and allowed for inclusion.
Not only does Gee believe that a Discourse cannot be faked but he also believes that they cannot be taught or learned. He expressed, “Discourses are not bodies of knowledge like physics or archeology or linguistics. Therefore, ironically, while you can overtly teach someone linguistics, a body of knowledge, you can’t teach them to be a linguist, that is to use a Discourse” (Gee, 7). As seen above, several components go in to being fluent in a Discourse, such as acts, values and beliefs. These aspects make a Discourse complex, and due to them being complex, they cannot be limited to one plane of understanding, making it hard to teach or learn. Unless the teacher is in the given Discourse, no one would know all of the specifics. And why would someone who is included give all of the inside information? “Social groups will not usually give their social goods – whether these are status or solidarity or both – to those who are not ‘natives’ or ‘fluent users’ ” (Gee, 10). They wouldn’t give out this type of information because it would allow individuals who don’t belong the ability to join. Again, I would have to disagree with the claim that Discourses cannot be taught regardless of them being complex. I believe this because Cuddy learned about a given Discourse despite challenges and it being complex. Also she helped out a fellow student once apart of the Discourse.
When Cuddy was nineteen she was in a very bad car accident which caused her IQ to drop two standard deviations. Due to this doctors told her college wasn’t right for her, yet she persisted, “I keep trying to go back… I worked and worked, and I got lucky… Eventually I graduated from college” (Cuddy, 15:55-16:51). She kept trying to learn in order to join the Discourse of being a college graduate. She eventually succeeded despite the complexity and hard challenges that faced her. And not only this but later on in life she helped to mentor another individual who felt that she didn’t belong in the Discourse, but instead Cuddy taught her despite knowing all of the inside secrets. When Cuddy found out she felt like she didn’t belong her response was “ ‘Yes you are! You are supposed to be here! And tomorrow you’re going to fake it, you’re going to make yourself powerful, and, you know – and you’re going to go into the classroom and give the best comment ever” (Cuddy, 18:35-18:48). And that’s exactly what the student did, she learned and faked it until she made it. She participated and faked knowledge and confidence. Not only until she made it but until she in fact became it. Through practice and pretending that she was knowledgeable she was able to join the class Discourse. Therefore, it can be seen that Discourse can be taught, despite complexity. Not only this but members are often willing to help out potential members if they see that they are worthy and trying.
