Academic Discourse Assignment

Academic Discourse Assignment

Basil-Vasileios Aouantalla Academic DiscourseA. Tzanne12/12/2014

TASK 1(a) Struggling to define literatureI. Recognition of nature of literature significant A. definitions of literature 1. in terms of readers abilities needed to approach literature differentially a. literature: imagination b. poetry: understanding of unusual language c. films/plays: identification, empathy 2. in terms of perception of literature as a communicative act with its different factors a. emotive function of language: between addresser and message b. poetic function of language: focused on message (not always the case) 3. in terms of change in readers view of the world and particular cultures view of literature B. features of literature 1. elevated form of language-based art 2. different versions of the world 3. readers perception of reality reflected on alternate versions of the world(b) As Jeffries and McIntyre (2010) state, it is significant that we recognize the nature of literature. The first definition presented, concerns the readers qualities needed to approach literature differentially. The second one (Jakobson) is related to the perception of literature as a communicative act between the addresser and the addressee, which usually distinguishes it from poetry. Cook (1994) supports that literature changes the readers view of the world and he urges us to see how particular cultures recognize literature. Features of literature, common in most cultures, include the presentation of alternate versions of the world in which the readers perception of reality is reflected, as well as the fact that literature constitutes an elevated form of language-based art.(c)Jeffries, L. and McIntyre, D. (2010) Stylistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.TASK 2Inquiring Into the Ancestral Homeland of RiceBy Basil-Vasileios AouantallaGenetic AgricultureOver the centuries, a controversy has arisen over the origins of Oryza sativa. This crop, D. Fuller supports, constituted a cornerstone as far as the evolution of the Asian civilization is concerned, resulting in remarkable economic growth, urbanization and landscape metamorphoses.According to M. Purugganan, potential places of origin of Oryza sativa are spotted in nearly every part of Asia. Should the origins of the crop be established, scientists and historians would make great advances in their field, a hypothesis that has already started becoming a fact.Quintessentially, the most probable ancestral homeland of Oryza sativa is either China or India. Fuller supports that Te-Tzu Changs findings ignited a controversy between the Chinese and the Indians.According to Han Dynasty records, there are two types of rice; keng (or japonica) in China, and hsien (or indica) in India. Tao Sang supports that these two types differ genetically. Nevertheless, in 2006, Sangs team identified the sh4 gene in both types, though subsequent findings suggested that the alteration arose in an ancestor of japonica first. The same applies for the Rc gene as well. In 2011, Purugganan and his colleagues exported a theory which suggests that after the domestication and spread of japonica in India, farmers amalgamated it with local rise, producing indica. Human intervention on rice genome has raised worries among science communities, in relation to the crop becoming more vulnerable to disease and less adaptable to the consequences of climate change. According to Sang and other scientists, contemporary breeders should be paradigmatized by the workmanship of those who transformed wild grass into rice. References1. Gross, B. L. & Zhao, Z. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 61906197 (2013). 2. Sang, T. & Ge, S. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 16, 139146 (2013). 3. Kovach, M. J., Sweeney, M. T. & McCouch, S. R. Trends Genet. 23, 578587 (2007). 4. Molina, J. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 83518356 (2011).

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