Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing

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dc.contributor.authorBangeni, Bongien_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-29T17:25:00Z
dc.date.available2014-11-29T17:25:00Z
dc.date.issued2009en_ZA
dc.descriptionThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies on 12 Nov 2009, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.2989/SALALS.2009.27.1.6.754.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis article reports on some of the findings from a year-long qualitative case study which explores the transition experiences of seven ESL students from the Humanities into postgraduate studies located in the Law and Commerce faculties at a historically white university. Here I focus on two of the students who were registered for honours in Criminology and explore the ways in which undergraduate discourse values manifest in their writing. Focusing on one course, Criminal Law, and within that the legal problem question answer (PQA) genre, I draw on Toulmin's (1958) model of argumentation to investigate how the students established links between warrants and claims in adapting to the genre conventions and modes of argument construction within their new discipline. The data reflect that, in addition to struggles around form, the challenges encountered by the students can be attributed broadly to a tension between their embodied habitus and the epistemological characteristics of the new discipline. One manifestation of this is in their challenges with negotiating the communicative purposes of the PQA where they explore available spaces for Social Science oriented reasoning in a genre shaped by 'objective' tests and legal principles. The findings underscore the importance of actively engaging students on how their prior literacies impact on the process of negotiating the intellectual and cultural demands of specialised genres at postgraduate level.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBangeni, B. (2009). Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing. <i>Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9814en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBangeni, Bongi "Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing." <i>Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies</i> (2009) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9814en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBangeni, B. 2009. Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1727-9461en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Bangeni, Bongi AB - This article reports on some of the findings from a year-long qualitative case study which explores the transition experiences of seven ESL students from the Humanities into postgraduate studies located in the Law and Commerce faculties at a historically white university. Here I focus on two of the students who were registered for honours in Criminology and explore the ways in which undergraduate discourse values manifest in their writing. Focusing on one course, Criminal Law, and within that the legal problem question answer (PQA) genre, I draw on Toulmin's (1958) model of argumentation to investigate how the students established links between warrants and claims in adapting to the genre conventions and modes of argument construction within their new discipline. The data reflect that, in addition to struggles around form, the challenges encountered by the students can be attributed broadly to a tension between their embodied habitus and the epistemological characteristics of the new discipline. One manifestation of this is in their challenges with negotiating the communicative purposes of the PQA where they explore available spaces for Social Science oriented reasoning in a genre shaped by 'objective' tests and legal principles. The findings underscore the importance of actively engaging students on how their prior literacies impact on the process of negotiating the intellectual and cultural demands of specialised genres at postgraduate level. DA - 2009 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2009 SM - 1727-9461 T1 - Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing TI - Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9814 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9814
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBangeni B. Negotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writing. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. 2009; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9814.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherTaylor & Francisen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentAcademic Development Programme (ADP)en_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyCentre for Higher Education Developmenten_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceSouthern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studiesen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/10.2989/SALALS.2009.27.1.6.754.en_ZA
dc.titleNegotiating between past and present discourse values in a postgraduate law course: implications for writingen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourcePostprinten_ZA
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