Scott Votel, MFA

Education

Education

• University of Minnesota, BA English Literature
• Emerson College, MFA Creative Writing

Research & Creative Interests

At the moment, I am interested in the non-scientific ways that creators explore the natural world and the climate crisis: I have taught courses on ecological movies, especially Studio Ghibli, and environmental rhetoric.

I am also interested in the rhetoric of radical politics, and I am currently designing a course that investigates the rhetorical tactics of communists, socialists, and anarchists in their public-facing work.

Finally, I am perennially interested in the unique ways that video games generate meaning for players through systemic design.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is primarily informed by the consciousness-expanding powers of education: a good education liberates students from exhausted or disempowering modes of thought. To achieve this liberation, I think students should be offered the opportunity to confront and interrogate what they have previously been told about the world and their place in it. As such, my students are tasked with genuine intellectual work that challenges the world around them as much as it challenges them to define their place in it through their own acts of self-creation. I am also moderately funny.