What is #SelfieClass

#SelfieClass is a section of  Writing 150: Writing and Critical Reasoning under the thematic of Identity and Diversity

offered at the University of Southern California, 

taught by Dr. Mark C. Marino

See some of our course readings or our assignments.

From the USC News:

Studying selfies: USC’s #SelfieClass examines what online photos say about us

Selfies have become the cultural artifacts of our time, the digital mosaic that reveals how society views gender, race, class and sexuality in the 21st century.

In USC’s #SelfieClass — a nickname for one particular section of “Writing 150: Writing and Critical Reasoning: Identity and Diversity” — first-year students critically examine society’s influence on self-identity and how selfies reflect and affect the global culture in which we live, all while learning how to write college-level essays.

The class is led by Mark Marino, an associate professor (teaching) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Marino’s work has often focused on digital spaces, including netprov, a form of narrative storytelling on social media.

“When we look at selfies, we’re also looking at the beginning of the 21st century,” Marino said. “The cultural moment of the selfies will pass and become something that’s iconic of our age, the same way that photographic self-portraits or painting self-portraits or religious journals were the selfies of their moment.”

In class discussions and individual interviews, students said their spontaneous snapshots often revealed subconscious feelings about their own gender, sexuality and ethnicity. They’ve used selfies to distance themselves from one group in hopes of being accepted by another.