The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

43 because often times they find themselves in opposition with specific ideologies that are realized by the group’s use of genre. This leads into the next point about genre, in that they should be analyzed and critiqued by members of the group. Genres that are used by a community should always be analyzed and critiqued by members of the group so that members are aware of the underlying belief system that the genre wishes to convey and naturalize. It is through this critiquing that members decide if they wish to support or resist the group’s ideology. Bawarshi discusses the importance of genre analysis; he says, “I offer genre analysis as a way for students to access, position themselves within, and participate critically in genred discursive spaces and the commitments, relations, identities, and activities embedded within them” (14). In this quote, Bawarshi is emphasizing the importance of genre analysis because that is the way that members fully realize their identity within the group and decide how they will contribute and participate as a member. For Christians in a secular world, it’s important for them to undertake genre analysis in order to discover the underlying belief system of the academic or professional community they are involved in. Even if the secular community claims to possess ideology that is detached from religion, Edlin argues that, “The philosophical and presuppositional foundations of every subject emanate from a set of religious convictions that need to be exposed and critiqued” (207). This quote argues that every discipline operates under a belief system involving some kind of religious conviction. As a result, we can imply from this quote that through genre analysis, Christians can recognize the religious convictions their secular community actively or passively displays and ultimately decide if they agree or disagree and choose to resist those convictions. Overall, members of a community should always critique their discipline in order to uncover its ideology and decide for themselves how they will respond to it. After taking a closer look at how genre portrays ideology and how ideology can be resisted, one can conclude that it’s important for members of a community to undergo genre analysis in order to expose these ideologies and ultimately decide where they stand in relation to those beliefs. After having established this background of genre, the rest of this paper will now analyze and critique the professional discipline of Nursing, focusing on its ideology. This