Ben Roth

Ben Roth's research focuses on the philosophy of art (especially literature and film), continental philosophy (Heidegger and existentialism, broadly construed), and the role that narrative plays in understanding and self-constitution. His articles have been published in the European Journal of Philosophy, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Philosophy and Literature, Philosophy and Rhetoric, Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture, and numerous other journals and edited volumes. Beyond his scholarly work, he has published more than thirty short stories (often very short stories), one of which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and some public-facing criticism. He studied philosophy and English at Williams College, received his PhD from Boston University, and has also held fellowships at the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. Before coming to Emerson, he taught philosophy and writing at Tufts and at Harvard, where he was awarded certificates of excellence for both in-person and online teaching by the Bok Center. At Emerson, he has taught courses on Narrative Ethics, Heidegger, Philosophy and Film on the Nature of Reality, Philosophical Films, Social Contract Theory and the Art World, Existentialisms, and Sophomore Honors. In the spring of 2027, he will be the full-time faculty fellow at Emerson Los Angeles, where he will teach a new course on Attention and Culture.