Topic Reflection

Topic Reflection

            Previous assignments and discussion posts throughout this class have helped guide us into our final project of examining a discourse community. I have chosen three communities that I feel passionate about, and am going to analyze each one by discussing pros and cons of choosing the topic and describing how I am going to research each one. The first topic is the Society of Women Engineers club I am apart of, the second topic is about guinea pigs, and the last is about the rave community.

            I have been apart of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) club for a little over a semester and it proves to be a unique organization. Since being in a mostly male dominated major, it can be overwhelming at times. I have decided to join this organization to meet other women in my major, and to expand my knowledge on what is available to me as an engineering major. SWE is an organization that brings together women engineers, to educate and bring awareness to all of the opportunities out there for female engineers. They encourage us to succeed in what we are doing in college, and out of college.

            Researching this topic would help me gather more information about what this club actually does, and if there could be more that it should do to help such a small percentage of people in a very difficult major. It would help me become aware of what goes on behind the scenes of the club, and would encourage me to get more involved in it. By researching this topic, I would make more connections with the people that I interviewed, and would help me make more friends with people in the same major that I am. Right now most my closest friends are in different majors, so it is hard to find people to study with for my difficult course load. This topic is relevant as more and more females are becoming engineers, and by researching more about this topic, it could bring attention to the fact that females are just as capable as men to succeed in a discipline that is thought to be difficult.

            However, if I chose this topic it would be hard to come up with an argument that goes along with this discourse community as it does not bring up many controversial issues. There is also not that much information online relating to SWE at UCF, as it is a small community and not many people have previously commented on it. Instead of doing research online, my research would mostly be interviews with people who are currently in the club, as well as people who have graduated, so I can get a wide range of views.

            My second research topic is about guinea pigs and why they should always be kept with at least one other guinea pig. I grew up with one, so they have always been one of my favorite animals. In college one of my best friends has a guinea pig, and recently just got another one. I have always been obsessed with holding and playing with them, and knew that I wanted one for myself. About one month ago, I adopted a one that needed a home and ever since I have been fascinated with them! After a lot of research about them already, I realized that guinea pigs should not be kept alone and they need to have another companion in the cage with them too.

            I would start my research by going online and finding credited sources that support the reasoning on why guinea pigs should remain together. After that I would start to interview knowledgeable people about these animals and understand what makes them unique to any other pet. A problem I could encounter would be finding people to interview, as I only personally know one other person who has guinea pigs. Also, I could encounter bias as the people I would be interviewing have guinea pigs and would only be giving me their thoughts on why they are the best animals.

However, researching this topic would help me gain insight into the guinea pig world, and would hopefully make me become a better caretaker to my own. It would also encourage me to adopt another guinea pig so that mine is no longer alone.

            My third and final research topic is about the rave community. I have been an active raver for about a year now and from personal experience it is truly one of the most unique communities I have ever been apart of. The rave community radiates love, respect, peace, and unity. I associate the rave community with people who are interested in Electronic Dance Music (EDM), because people typically go to raves go for the music, which is most likely a variation of EDM.  There are many different genres of EDM, but they all relate and many ravers enjoy a lot if not all types of electronic music. There have been a lot of arguments that I have encountered on EDM, such as if it should actually be considered music.  

            I want to research what goes on in the making of an EDM song, and I also want to research ravers and who they really are as a community. To achieve this, I would interview people who love EDM and people who do not like it, so I wouldn’t be bias during my research. In addition to that, I can go onto Reddit pages, since there are a lot of threads about this topic already, and I can look up different Facebook pages that ravers are in to make a judgement on how they act.

            However, by researching this topic, it could result in some bias as I am a member of this community and I have an opinion about it. Despite this, I would unveil a growing community in todays world, and understand why EDM is becoming more mainstream. I know a number of people who love EDM, and I also know people who despise it. By having a wide range of people who have different opinions about this topic, it helps me in my research as I can get perspectives from different sides, and ultimately come to a conclusion on if EDM should be considered “real music” or if it takes no skill to create.