Ben Roth
Assistant Professor, School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies
Dr. 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 30 short stories (often very short stories), one of which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and some public-facing criticism.
Before coming to Emerson, Dr. Roth taught philosophy and writing at Tufts University and at Harvard, where he was awarded certificates of excellence for both in-person and online teaching by the Bok Center. 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.
Courses
- Narrative Ethics
- Great Philosophers
- Special Topics in Philosophy
- Social Contract Theory and the Art World
- Sophomore Honors Seminar 4
- Existentialisms
- Philosophical Films
- Directed Study
Academic Work
- 2026, “An Attempt to Not Map a Mountain,” forthcoming in Philosophy & Rhetoric, “Thinking in Transition” Forum
- 2026, “Aesthetics Needs Non-Ideal Theory,” forthcoming in the Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics 49.2
- 2025, “From Ricoeur Back to Heidegger on Narrative and Self-Understanding,” in Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture 9.4, Phenomenology and Narrative, Part 1
- 2025, “Ideological Rug-Pulling In and Outside of Art,” in the Journal of Aesthetic Education 59.4
- 2025, invited review essay on The Proustian Mind, edited by A. Elsner and T. Stern (Routledge, 2023) in MIND 134
- 2024, “‘I’m Not Surprised, But…’: Knowingness and Moral Judgment,” in Philosophy & Rhetoric 57.4. Excerpt reprinted on the blog of the American Philosophical Association, June 2025
- 2024, “Ideological Rug-Pulling: Race, Reds, and Red Herrings in Jordan Peele’s Us,” in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 82.3, special issue on The Art and Aesthetics of Capitalism
Creative Work
- “Never Read These Comments,” (2026), published as limited-edition, letter-press print by Caira Art Editions
- “Matter and Free Will,” 2026, on 3:AM Magazine
- “Armchair Philosopher,” 2025, published as limited-edition, letter-press print by Caira Art Editions
- “The Flamingo of Cape Cod,” 2025, on Necessary Fiction
- “The Work = Concentration,” 2025, on North American Review
- “Or Merely to Insulate,” 2024, on Gargoyle Online 9
- “Strawberry Fields Forever,” 2024, in Santa Monica Review
- “A Brief Excerpt from the History of Tobacco,” 2024, in North Dakota Quarterly 91