Ethan Werner

I am currently living in the Berkeley, California. I am from the Metro East St. Louis region in southern Illinois.

I completed my Master’s in the Humanities at the University of Chicago and subsequently worked for the Department of Cinema & Media Studies and Media Arts & Design Program at UChicago.

During this time, I presented my master’s thesis, “Faerian Play: Affective (Dis)Enchantment in Breath of the Wild,” at the Works in Progress Conference on a panel titled “Romance, Spectre, & Landscape” as well as to the Digital Media Workshop at the University of Chicago. I was a member in graduate committees on “Accessibility in Gaming” and “Games + Philosophy.”

Directly after the completion of my Master’s, I worked as Editorial Intern for Cita Press, a feminist indie press publishing carefully designed open access editions of public domain books written by women. This included a capstone project centering around Amy Lowell’s 1916 poetry collection, Men, Women & Ghosts.

I completed my BA at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in English (Media Cultures) and Philosophy. My English thesis, “Wonder, Disenchantment, and the Trouble with Barton Fink,” was advised by Jim Hansen and awarded high honors by Irvin Hunt & José Capino. My Philosophy capstone and subsequent thesis was advised by Helga Varden on “Artificiality and Phenomenal Wonder: An Inquiry into Hannah Arendt’s Division of Being.”

While the bulk of my academic energy has been directed toward critical and theoretical analysis, this work has always taken place against the backdrop of creative and practical projects. My portfolio includes examples from studio classes on drawing, oil painting, creative writing, ikebana, and game design as well as numerous examples of creative projects completed outside the studio.

Outside of the classroom, I have also worked as Nature Staff/Outdoor Educator in Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. My work has been supported by awards from the Philosophy and English departments at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and in large part from funding received from the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, Local 662.