madeline “flourish” klink

Biography

Flourish Klink is a graduate student in Comparative Media Studies at MIT, focusing on fan culture and transgressive online practices (for instance, flaming and trolling). Flourish has been active in various online fan communities for over half her life. Formerly, she attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she studied religious practices in virtual reality. She is an aspiring author with several manuscripts under her belt; she is also a national–level competitor in Taekwondo.

Flourish's goal is to demystify the stranger parts of online culture. In future, she hopes to serve as a translator between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants,’ helping teachers understand students, marketers and executives understand fans, and vice versa.

Current Projects

• Azkatraz 2009
  I am Co-Chair of Formal Programming for Azkatraz, an academic Harry Potter symposium taking place July 17–21, 2009. The symposium is organized by HPEF Inc.
• Fandom Blog
  This weblog is designed to bring together various perspectives on fans and fandom, particularly media fandom. It includes interviews, opinion pieces, conference reports and academic papers.
• Alternity
  Alternity, a Harry Potter alternate universe role-playing game, is a collaborative work of fiction. It is currently in its first of seven years.

Education

• B.A. Religion
  Reed College, June 2008
  Senior thesis: “‘I Type the Amens and Think the Rest’: An Ethnographic Look at Religion in Virtual Reality.”
• M.S. Comparative Media Studies
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, projected 2010
  Master's thesis: Projected to be an exploration of lulz, capslocking, and the ironic mode in fan expression online.

Highlights of Fan & Work Experience

• Columnist and Staff Member, FanFiction.net, 1999–2001.
  Wrote “Five Snitches,” a fiction review column, and helped select new columnists.
• Co-founder and Director of Logistics, FictionAlley.org, 2001–present.
  Contributed to the original design team for the website, originated much of the writing improvement content, and moderated forums. FictionAlley was nominated for a Webby award in April 2004 and a Prix Ars Electronica award in 2005. In 2004, FictionAlley was granted 501(c)(3) status as FAWC, an educational entity. See also “When local teen met Harry, a hot Web site brewed,” June 7, 2002 in The Sacramento Bee.
• Archivist's Assistant, Reed College Archives and Special Collections, 2004–2005.
  Filed papers, prepared books for the special collections, and aided researchers. Wrote a weekly column for the Quest, Reed College's newspaper, about the college's history.
• House Advisor, Reed College, 2005–2006.
  Helped foster a healthy living environment in a mixed-class-rank dormitory floor. Planned regular activities and helped mediate disputes between residents.
• Tutor, Reed College Writing Center, 2005–2008.
  Lead Tutor, 2006-2007.
  Helped students of all levels improve their writing skills. Served as a student voice at committee, faculty and staff meetings.
• Intern, Reed College Admission Office, 2006–2008.
  Interviewed prospective students, read applications, led campus tours, traveled to college fairs and other functions as a representative, answered phones, filed papers and completed administrative tasks around the office.
• Research Assistant, Dr. Ellen Millender of Reed College, summer 2007.
  Helped redesign coursework for the following year. Completed various administrative tasks.
• Teaching Assistant, Dr. David Thorburn of MIT, spring 2009.
  Helped lead discussions and build course sites for 21L.485 (20th Century Fiction) and 21L.702 (Studies in Fiction: Joyce and the Legacy of Modernism).
• Research Assistant, Project New Media Literacies, 2008–present.
  Working with a small team, wrote content for the Learning Library project. Used my fan expertise to aid in developing the Teacher's Strategy Guide: Learning in a Participatory Culture. In collaboration with Howard Gardner's GoodPlay project, contributed to the Ethics Casebook.
• Teaching Assistant, CMS 100, Dr. Martin Marks of MIT, fall 2009.
  Will lead a discussion section, mark student papers, and help design coursework for this introductory level class.

Publications, Presentations & Invited Talks

• Once Upon a Time-Turner: The History of Harry Potter Fandom.
  Panelist at Nimbus 2003.
• Slytherins, Smoke and Shadows: The Secret Life of Severus Snape.
  Panel moderator at Nimbus 2003.
• The Implications of Virtual Religion: An Ethnographic Look at a Catholic Bible Study in Second Life.
  Paper presented at the The Future of Religions/Religion of the Future conference in Second Life in 2008.
• Panelist: A&E TrendLab, October 2008
  Topic: "Exploring fan-fiction and understanding how it is re-defining storytelling in entertainment." Event produced by Electric Artists.
• Religion of the Book, Religion of the Screen
  Speaker at Media in Transition 6: Stone and Papyrus, Storage and Transmission. Biblical exegesis in virtual reality in general and Second Life in particular. Slidecast available.
• From Theory to Practice
  Article published in Threshold magazine, Spring 2009. Co-authored with Rafi Santo.

Creative Portfolio

• The Sonnet Project
  These videos are the first complete audio-visual presentation of Shakespeare's sonnets that has ever been made publicly available, as far as I am aware. They are currently being released at a rate of about one per day.
• Des Imagistes
  This site is an online version of the seminal poetry collection edited by Ezra Pound; it was created for the "Workshop I" course in my Master's program. I worked as part of a 10-person team, focusing on markup and Greek translation and representation.

Other Accomplishments

• Classical piano training, over the course of 10 years, in the Suzuki Piano Method. Instruction from Mrs. Rita Burns and Master Teacher Dr. Haruko Kataoka.
  Performed in a total of 64 recitals and concerts, including 4 Japan-US Friendship Concerts, 3 5–piano concerts and 4 10–piano concerts. In 1998, traveled to Japan to study under Kataoka sensei and perform in concert.
• First Dan Black Belt in Karate, issued by Kovar's Karate Center (now the Satori Academy) in 2000. Earned the black belt under Shihan Dave Kovar's personal instruction.
• First Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, certified by the Kukkiwon in 2008. USA Taekwondo member. Member of the Reed College Taekwondo Team (2007-08), the MIT Sport Taekwondo Team (2008–present), and the Horizon Technical Team (2007–present). Currently coached by Mr. Robert Maves, who is also the coach of the National Poomsae Team. Competition results include:
  • 1st place, first dan women's heavyweight poomsae, National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships 2008
  • 2nd place, senior 1 competition poomsae, National Poomsae Qualifier–Fresno 2008
  • 4th place, senior 1 competition poomsae, 2008 National Poomsae Team Trials 2008