Faculty Shout-out by Scott Michaelsen
It has been a true privilege to have Mr. Milner in my classes on literary theory, contemporary climate fiction, and cultural studies (the latter focused on post-war flying saucer culture), all of which were small enough for him to make his presence felt. Nearly every class he has something thoughtful and trenchant to offer as comment regarding the work at hand, and he initiates and participates in spirited conversations among the students themselves. Mr. Milner typically picks difficult topics for presentations and final projects: for instance, in the Critical Theory class he chose to present on Critical Race Theory (Cheryl I. Harris’ “Whiteness as Property”) and also on Slavoj Žižek’s theory of violence, while his final project involves reading Natalie Wynn’s “The Aesthetic” in the light of the work of Monique Wittig and Judith Butler. All of this work was careful, probing, and speculative in all the right ways, and the same might be said for his chosen assignments and projects in the other two courses he’s taken with me. His capstone project involves extensive research into the performance art and poetry of CAConrad, which takes place at the intersection of new queer/trans theory and ecological theory.
How would you describe your time as an English or Film Studies major at MSU?
I picked up the English Literary Studies major around the second semester of my freshman year, and since then the classes I’ve taken and faculty I’ve met have been some of my all-time favorite here at MSU. You can tell how passionate English professors are about their subject areas, and in my experience they have always done an outstanding job at igniting that same passion in me, even if it’s an area I didn’t expect to be interested in or excited about. I’m really happy with the skills I’ve been able to build during my time as an English major, especially in terms of reading, writing, expressing abstract and complex ideas, and examining a text with curiosity to find deeper meaning.
Which classes, instructors, or experiences particularly stand out for you and why? How did they prepare you for the next phase of your life?
Taking ENG 328 with Dr. Scott Michaelsen was definitely a highlight of my college experience, and that class still stands out to me as my favorite. It was a readings in novel and narrative course with a focus on climate fiction, which was a narrative genre that I was unfamiliar with before taking the class. But the works we read and the discussions that we had as a class following them were very enlightening, and it ended up driving me deeper into everyday environmental thinking and care for the complexity of environmental issues. This class ended up being a large part of my motivation for going into environmental law as a career path, and also sparked my interest and hobby for eco-poetry.
What advice would you give future English or Film Studies majors, based on your experiences in the department?
Find ways (no matter how small) to apply the things you learn or the concepts you encounter in class towards your everyday life, and especially your creative endeavors. You’re being introduced to these things for a reason, college is a four-year wellspring of interesting lessons and discussions you won’t be able to find anywhere else, take full advantage of the opportunity!
What coursework-related projects were/are you working on this year, and what interests or excites you about them? (capstone courses, honors thesis, independent studies, etc.)
I’m finishing up a capstone analyzing the work of queer eco-poet CAConrad, and I’m particularly excited about it as it’s a topic that intersects with a lot of my favorite interests in literary studies, including queer ecological theory and poetry analysis. Just hoping that I’m finished by the deadline!
What are your hopes and aspirations, post-graduation?
My hope is that I’ll be able to launch myself into somewhere new & exciting following law school, which I’ll be starting this upcoming fall. During that, I’d also like to develop my skills in creative writing and hopefully eventually become a published poet.