The overall goal of this assignment is to help you understand how the language practices of a particular group are related to how members of the group view their discipline or profession. By learning about how language practices in one group are related to their view of a discipline or profession, we hope that you will be able to extend that understanding to the relationships between language practices and perceptions of culture, society, groups, and individuals in general.

In this assignment, you will work from a specific exploration of a particular group to what we hope will be a more general understanding of how language works in society. We also hope that you will be able to investigate a profession or discipline that is of personal interest to you. For instance, you might work with your classmates to explore your major area of study, or you might explore an area that you are thinking about pursuing after graduation.