Dan reflects on his journey from photography to English Professor using Gary Snyder’s essay “Etiquette of Freedom” to understand the empowering forces of wildness, wilderness, and being wild. He talks about his relationship with photography, how flash photography is like open class discussions, academia being a constant cycle of proving yourself, what it means to choose yourself and your passions, and so much more.
Daniel Dissinger is an Associate Professor in the Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He earned his PhD and MA from Saint John’s University as well as an MFA from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. Dan’s dissertation examined the early, pre-On the Road novels of Jack Kerouac and the reflective writing properties of the “Duluoz Legend.” Dan’s poetry has been published in a variety of journals, and his first chapbook, tracing the shape…, was published by Shadow Mountain Press in 2012. He is the co-creator & co-host of The Nostalgia Test Podcast as well as the co-founder of The Humanities Podcast Network.
People and Texts Mentioned in the Episode
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- The Gary Snyder Reader
- Gary Snyder
- “The Etiquette of Freedom” by Gary Snyder
- Nassau Community College
- Walt Whitman
- William S. Burroughs
- Jack Kerouac
- Wee Gee (photographer)
- International Center for Photography
- SUNY College at Old Westbury
- USCDornsife Writing Program
“You’re always trying to prove yourself in this [academic] career.”
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–Dan Dissinger
“Being able to create something out of just light, which is kind of what [photography] is; you are working with light. You are working with shadows.” –Dan Dissinger
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“I’m thinking of that idea of impermanence, and I think of it in terms of career and in terms of this question, ‘Did I always know?’ and I feel like to always know is to be fixed in a permanence.”
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–Dan Dissinger
“In the action of things, that is what we are being, and actions are impermanent, actions are ephemeral; one action leads to another action, and the prior action is gone.” –Dan Dissinger
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“Photography is capturing the fleeting glance of something that only you see in the lens.”
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–Dan Dissinger
“I love the chance improvisation in the moment, that fleeting flash of light that can happen in a classroom where a student comes upon an idea and then another student collides with that idea and then another student and another student, and all of a sudden that class is just creating multiple flashes of light.” –Dan Dissinger
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“What happens when we reframe the wildness and we reframe the wilderness, something we can be a part of?” –Dan Dissinger
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“Maybe to choose all of [your passions] is to choose yourself. Maybe it is to be in touch with what is naturally wild in you.” –Dan Dissinger
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This episode was recorded on September 27th, 2022. Because we recorded via Zoom, there may be occasional audio hiccups. Our theme song is “4 am” by Makaih Beats. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher and follow us on Twitter @WritingRemixPod.
Humanities Podcasting Symposium 2022
Podcasting as Knowledge Sharing and Creation
We are excited to announce our 2022 Symposium on “Podcasting as Knowledge Sharing and Creation.” It will take place virtually on October 20-22. Register to attend here. This is a FREE EVENT!
The Humanities Podcast Network Symposium is returning this October 20th – 22nd, 2022 for our second virtual symposium. This year’s theme is Podcasting as Knowledge Sharing & Creation. Join us for conversations about the exciting world of education and informational podcasting and podcasters! Emerging and independent scholars are especially welcome.
Please register on Eventbrite to attend. Registration is free and open to all.
The symposium will be a series of one-hour roundtables with the second thirty minutes reserved for audience Q+A. If you registered to lead a session, we will contact you by early September to let you know your session and introduce you to your fellow roundtable participants so you can plan the session collaboratively. You are also welcome to attend the conference as an audience member and join in the conversations!
All sessions will be recorded and posted to our YouTube page for archival purposes.
We encourage you to register by September 30 to allow us to plan though registration will remain available until the symposium begins.
Last year’s symposium went extremely well, and we are hoping to build on its success this year by focusing on the “Network” part of the HPN, strengthening the community of educational podcasters by giving us a space in which to make and grow our connections and friendships. We look forward to seeing you!
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