“Contrary to what John Lindow seems to have once intimated, being a linguist is not a handicap in the pursuit of literary and mythological discoveries. Jacob Grimm was a linguist, and so were all the great philologists until the Chomskyan revolution turned language studies into a parody of elementary algebra.”
-Anatoly Liberman
My name is Scott Shell, and I received my Ph.D. in Germanic Linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley in August 2020. While pursuing this degree, I had an emphasis on historical linguistics, runology and mythology. My dissertation is titled: The Application of Peircean Semiotics to the Elder Futhark Tradition. I obtained an M.A. in Linguistics in 2014 and a B.A. in German in 2010 from Wayne State University.
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate enough to have gained training in various Germanic areas (see list of qualifications below). I was also presented with the unique opportunity to study historical linguistics and mythology directly under Professors Irmengard Rauch, Thomas Shannon, Winfried Kudszus, and Jonas Wellendorf.
As an instructor, I have taught Reading and Composition for International Students, Germanic/Scandinavian myth, and older and modern Germanic languages. For a list of courses I have taught in the past, please see my teaching experience.
I am also a first-generation high school graduate in my immediate family. I chose to pursue my Ph.D. to show that I can lead by example for the disadvantaged. To that end, I understand what it is like for first-generation students to have to struggle with the uncertainty of what lies ahead when it comes to pursuing education. This empathetic perspective, along with my experience as a teacher and researcher, have allowed me to become an effective instructor to all of my students. Because of these skills, I was awarded the Graduate Student Instructor of the Year award from UC Berkeley in 2017.
Areas in which I have had formal training:
Reading and Composition for International Students, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old English, Old High German, Middle High German, Middle English, Gothic, Runic (all systems), Latin, Germanic/Scandinavian Mythology and Religion, Anthropological Linguistics, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Sociolinguistics, Foreign Language Pedagogy.
Scott T. Shell, PhD 