If you ask Professor Mark Brown, who arrived on campus in 2013, what he does at Delta, he鈥檒l say, 鈥淚 teach composition, sometimes creative writing, and mostly film courses in our digital filmmaking program.鈥�
That鈥檚 a profound understatement. Brown is an associate professor of English, Delta鈥檚
Honors Program coordinator and the writer and producer of 鈥淢ovie House,鈥� a podcast
about the film industry that airs weekly on 好色先生TV Public Radio.
Clearly, he鈥檚 an overachiever - just like many of the students who enroll in his honors courses.
Honors education is not just a regular class on steroids
Mark is quick to squash the common misperception that honors courses are more and harder work.
鈥淥ne of the great myths of honors education is that it's just harder, right?鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot so. Honors courses are really about providing alternative educational experiences, allowing the professors to pursue their very specific area of expertise with a smaller group of students - allowing students to really ask a question and delve into it.鈥�
Mark tells stories of class projects that both the students and he found fulfilling.
鈥淚 teach in an honors section of English 111--just the most basic freshman composition class that every college freshman on every college campus takes,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we focus on what are called 鈥榸ines. They鈥檙e little hand published booklets that you make with a Sharpie, a stapler and a photocopier. Just the cheapest, most democratic kind of thing.鈥�
The 鈥榸ines are as unique and interesting as the students who create them.
鈥淓veryone had to create their own little personalized publication,鈥� Mark explained. 鈥淭here was one about a feminist painter, one on the history of Dungeons and Dragons and another about designing rollercoasters. The fun and variety of it perfectly combined with the academic and intellectual rigor of the research and citation requirements. Everything they were supposed to do in a normal college class, they did in spades.
鈥淏ut in addition, it was so personalized and so idiosyncratic, it was just a delight. It was an opportunity for them to really flex their muscles and show what they can do. Kind of that horizon-broadening experience, where they could really research exactly whatever it was they wanted to research and find joy in academics, joy in research, joy in writing and joy in learning.鈥�
Clearly, he found joy in teaching it as well.
Lights, camera, podcast
Listen to one episode of Mark鈥檚 podcast and you can鈥檛 avoid his love for films and his respect for the artists who create them. On occasion, you鈥檒l also hear if someone really lets the viewer down, like his podcast on the most recent James Bond feature 鈥淣o Time to Die.鈥�
鈥淲ith 鈥楥asino Royale,鈥� James Bond was elevated into something other than a clich茅,鈥� Brown opined. 鈥淯nfortunately, 鈥楴o Time to Die鈥� kind of wrecks all that.鈥�
Want to hear Mark鈥檚 take on 鈥淭he Worst Person in the World,鈥� 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once鈥� or 鈥淭he Batman鈥�? Listen to 好色先生TV Public Radio at 90.1FM Thursday mornings or catch them anytime at .
"One of the great myths of honors education is that it's just harder, right? Not so."
Associate Professor of English
Are you interested in honors education at 好色先生TV? Find out more at delta.edu/honors.
Learn more at Delta鈥檚 digital film program at delta.edu/programs.
