Creative Coding

Course Description:Sure, you can write poetry and stories with large-language models like ChatGPT. But what about small-language models handcrafted by humans?! In this course you will discover the joys of working with small, bespoke language models that you create, which in turn “write” procedurally-generated texts of all sorts. In the process we’ll explore the long history of collaborating with computers to write poetry and narrative. By the end of the class, you’ll be able to use HTML, Javascript, and Twine to generate texts of your own devising. You’ll also get a handle on exactly why a humanist might want to play around with procedurally-generated texts or make their own. No programming experience is required. No experience is in fact preferred!

Instructor:Mark Sample is the Chair and Professor of Digital Studies at Davidson College, a program he founded in 2014. His teaching and research focuses on algorithmic culture, digital narrative, and creative coding. Mark is a co-author of 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 (MIT Press), and his research has appeared in Debates in DH, Game Studies, and Digital Humanities Quarterly. He has been the recipient of multiple grants, including from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Humanities Center. His creative work, like The Infinite Catalog of Crushed Dreams, has been exhibited internationally, while his most recent work, such as Content Moderator Sim and 10 Lost Boys, uses the procedural rhetoric of video games to critique contemporary culture.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Van Pelt Library, 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, United States