Terry Schenold @ UW

Terry Schenold
University of Washington, Department of English
Ph.D. Candidate

Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that "If literature isn't everything, it's not worth a single hour of someone's trouble." As a scholar of literature and an educator I feel that it is important to invest in this sentiment expressed by Sartre, even if it is only in the abstract. This is not to say that literature contains all the answers to our questions, or that it categorically deserves more attention than other intellectual creations, scientific, religious or otherwise. Rather, I am invested in the belief that the reading, analysis, appreciation, theorization, and creation of literature is of great ethical value. Not only do I believe that studying fiction, poetry, literary theory and philosophy will make you a better thinker, writer, and communicator, but also a more conscious experiencer of the world. Consequently, each class I teach has, at its core, an implied argument for the value of literature in general.

I studied English literature and philosophy at Whittier College and received my BA in both from there in 2000. I have my MA in English from UW and am currently a PhD candidate in the program working on my dissertation. My interests are diverse and many, though I often find myself working with novels and all kinds of theory. I have an passion for the fiction of Melville, the poetry of Wallace Stevens, and philosophical thought of Kant, Heidegger, Sartre, and most recently Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou and Gaston Bachelard. My past research has centered around the relationship between ontology and literature, and postmodern theories of ethics. Current research consists of thinking about digital games and a new media theory of the imagination, specifically how it relates to novelistic innovation in imaginative fiction.

I am also committed to teaching and am always looking for new ways to help students deepen their experience at UW. I proudly worked for the Undergraduate Research Program for two years ('02-'04) and continue to encourage students to participate in research, as well as the other amazing programs listed in the "links" section of my site. If you want to contact me you can email me at schenold@u.washington.edu.