Episode 10 is the first episode in a two-part conversation with the king of portmanteaux and experimental teaching, Dr. Mark C. Marino (aka “Coach”) of the USC Writing Program.
In this first episode, which we recorded on March 9, we talk to Mark about some of his innovative writing activities and assignments–including online simulations (Netprov) and his infamous #SelfieClass–that prioritize creativity, improvisation, and play.
Mark is a writer and scholar of digital literature living in Los Angeles. He is the Director of Communication of the Electronic Literature Organization. His works include “Living Will,” “a show of hands,” and “Marginalia in the Library of Babel.” He was one of ten co-authors of 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 and is a collaborator with Jessica Pressman and Jeremy Douglass on Reading Project: A Collaborative Analysis of William Poundstone’s Project for Tachistoscope {Bottomless Pit}. He is currently working with his two children on a series of interactive children’s stories entitled Mrs. Wobbles and the Tangerine House. He is an Associate Professor (Teaching) at the University of Southern California where he directs the Humanities and Critical Code Studies (HaCCS) Lab.
You can learn more about Mark at markcmarino.com.
Links and Texts Mentioned in the Episode
Some links may be affiliate links, which at no additional cost to you help to fund The Writing Remix. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Meanwhile Netprov Studios
- “Netprov: Elements of an Emerging Form” by Mark Marino and Rob Wittig
- “Studying selfies: USC’s #SelfieClass examines what online photos say about us”
- Know Thy Selfie assignment
- The Writer’s Way by Jack Rawlins and Stephen Metzger
“A lot of my teaching has been informed by the fact that I know that these students are required to take these classes…I try to open up these spaces with the notion that we’re going to play.” @MCMarino_Kids
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“I realized selfies could be a way to get through students’ defenses, whatever they may be, against introspection and self-reflection about the way they perform identity.” @MCMarino_Kids
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“The writing context is changing…Technology is changing our relationship to writing…I like to see what else is possible.” @MCMarino_Kids
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“If you think about [writing] from the point of view of something that you love to do rather than something you have to do, how does that change things?” @MCMarino_Kids
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