Analysis of Bad Indians Using Bizzell's Concept of Hybrid Discourse as a Lens

Patricia's article "Hybrid Academic Discourses: What, Why, How" examines how academic writing has evolved from the traditional academic discourse to the current forms which she terms as the hybrid academic discourses. The traditional academic discourses have been dominating the academic written presentations for a very long period. Patricia observes keenly how fast the new literary forms flux the academic arena today with great curiosity, and wonders if the so-called hybrid discourses would comfortably be acceptable as effective academic discourse (Bizzell 9).

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Patricia Bizzell comes up with a new revelation of what she terms as the discourse community. According to Bizzell, a discourse community is a group of people bound with similar cultural backgrounds. Meaning that the people belonging to the same discourse community share several similar practices hence are acclimatized to similar meanings, views, and notions. Bizzell argues that in these discourse communities, the shared language conventions tend to affect the world view, social status as well as their work.

On this basis, lies the distinction between the traditional discourses from the hybrid discourses. Bizzell notes that the traditional academic discourses have specific critical characteristics such as the use of a particular language which she refers to as grapholect, meaning the language for reading and writing, not spoken (Bizzell 10). According to Bizzell, traditional discourses are ultra-correct such that they never entertain any mixture of other casual languages or items. Grapholect cannot be spoken easily because they are too elaborate for an audience to listen to suppose they are applied in any official gatherings such as lectures or papers read at the conferences. According to Bizzell, traditional discourses form the mainstream writing styles that control both structures and parts of any academic writing. Students and other scholars use traditional discourses to give them guiding structures for preparing a wide range of academic articles such as laboratory reports, research papers, reflective journals, critical essays, among others.

According to Bizzell, these traditional discourses have evolved to give rise to the mixture of discourses that violate the standard acceptable conventions of the pure traditional academic discourses (11). She terms the evolved kinds of writings as hybrid academic discourses. Hybrid discourses comprise the mixture of both non-academic discourses blended with the traditional academic discourses. Bizzell notes that the hybrid academic discourses are more diverse as compared with the traditional academic discourses such that they incorporate various elements of cultural heritage as well as individual language which are not required in academic writing. However, she argues that the hybrid discourses despite being possibly regarded as unacceptable, provide an ample opportunity for expression of individual views so that they can be heard in the society. Hybrid academic discourses have brought up a novel and interesting concept that has made the current academic writing more understandable, simple and clear as compared to the traditional academic discourses. Bizzell also notes that hybrid academic discourses have gained a vast audience in the current quest for academic work (Bizzell 12). Several modern scholars currently employ massive instances of hybrid discourses in their academic works signifying the cordial embrace of cultural diversity and acceptance of new conventions in modern academic writing.

In her article, "Bad Indians," Deborah Miranda blends poetry, narratives, anthropological recordings, photographs, and other forms to present the condition of the past and present life of the local California Indians as well as herself.

Miranda empathetically describes the beating of her brother by the alcoholic father. The beating reminds her of the brutality that the California Indians suffered in the hands of the ruthless padres of the California missions, about two centuries ago. According to Miranda, those padres burdened the California Indians through merciless beatings, rape, torture, and decimation. This has been treated as a mere historical myth for the California Indians for a long time. However, Miranda proves that these activities of violence took place in reality (Miranda 26). By the use of newspaper clippings, historical information, and other contemporary accounts, Miranda proves that the events of violence that for long have been treated as a myth practically took place in reality. The evidence shows the gravity of brutality behind the so-called myth.

Miranda is worried about how violently the father punishes her brother. She ties the father's violent character to the past violence experienced by the ancient California Indians. According to Miranda, some of the California Indians escaped the torturous hands of the padres of the California missions using brutality (Miranda 14). They had to be tough enough to hit back at the torturous padres for their freedom. Hence, survivors had to be destroyers too. Miranda's father might have probably inherited this violent character that is dominant among the California Indians through blood. Miranda herself has also been a victim of such circumstance since she has also been neglected, terrorized, abandoned, and raped while she was still a child. Based on her experience, and that of the entire community, Miranda feels that the surviving California Indians lost their ways to freedom. She hopes that they will one day find creative means of redefining themselves and reconstruct their new life.

Miranda's "Bad Indians," can be considered as an excellent example of Bizzell's concept of hybrid academic discourse. Despite passing a clear and understandable message to the public, the writing of this article does not adhere strictly to the conventions set for traditional academic writing. It can be said to be a hybrid academic discourse because of the following reasons. First, the article comprises non-academic elements wisely blended into the traditional academic writing style to produce a unique but clear piece of writing that is well understood by the current scholars. It is not a purely linear narrative because the past and the present have been weaved together, and the political and personal items collide. Second, as an excellent example of the hybrid academic discourse, the article comprises a vast application of personal experience and offhand refutation.

Conclusion

An important indicator that this article has been hybridized is the vast cultural references that the author has immensely depicted in the story. Apart from that, Miranda has incorporated a large blend of various forms of writing in the same article such as poetry, narrative, anthropological recordings, as well as photographs. These are fascinating forms of writing. However, they have not been used appropriately based on the conventions and accepted the way of presenting traditional academic writings. Therefore, Miranda's article, 'Bad Indians," has employed the non-academic items into the traditional academic discourse to come up with the complete message easily understood by the current academic scholars. Therefore, Miranda's way of writing conforms entirely to Bizzell's concept of hybrid discourse. Hence, we can say that the 'Bad Indians" by Deborah Miranda is an example of the current hybrid academic discourse.

Works Cited

Bizzell, Patricia. "Hybrid Academic Discourses: What, Why, How." Composition Studies 7.2 (1999): 7-21.

Miranda, Deborah. Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir. Berkeley: Heyday, 2013. Print.