Professor of Writing at USC
Current Visiting Senior Lecturer in English at Yale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/files\/2026\/09\/Mesle-Headshot-2025-1-600x900.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nReasons, Feelings, and Close Teaching: Writing that Matters in an Era of Artificial Empathy<\/h6>\n\n\n\nFriday, October 9, 12-1pm<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\nChase Lounge<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\nPrior to the lecture, there will be refreshments available beginning at 11:30 pm. Attendees are also welcome to bring lunch from the Den or bring your own lunch from home.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHumanities writing classes are full of feeling. Whether we\u2019ve recognized it or not, navigating the structures of how writing feels has always been a skill we\u2019ve taught. This talk proposes that such skills are some of the most valuable forms of expertise that humanists can provide in our current technological moment. Companies like OpenAI take their name from the marketing term \u201cartificial intelligence.\u201d But judging from their commercials, a better name for what they sell might be artificial\u00a0empathy<\/em>. To students facing an overwhelming world\u2014a world of political and economic upheaval, environmental calamity, educational expense, and (according to ads) stressful first dates\u2014OpenAI offers certainty, accomplishment, and the promise of enduring support. Students aren\u2019t dumb to seek out those consolations. But humanists are uniquely positioned to help students realize how the empathetic optimism on offer from \u201cAI\u201d might be inherently cruel.\u00a0\u00a0By emphasizing how critical thinking and feeling combine, we can help writing students recognize the worth of embodied intellectual, social, and political relationships that may sometimes feel difficult, but offer us a world of support that\u2019s real.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/files\/2026\/09\/Mesle-cover-reasons-600x900.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFormally known as the\u00a0Emily Carroll \u201999 Carleton English Guest Lecture,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0this college event is\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>funded by the King Family Charitable Lead Trust in honor of the positive experiences of Emily Carleton \u201999 at Bates College, and also her graduation from the institution. This fund will, at the discretion of the English department, support guest lecturers on campus for the benefit of Bates students and faculty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Sarah Mesle Professor of Writing at USCCurrent Visiting Senior Lecturer in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2012,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_prepend":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append_before_footer":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_hide_page_title":false,"_header_override":"","_template_width_override":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"_sidebarChoice":"","footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-2629","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions\/2633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/files\/2026\/09\/Mesle-Headshot-2025-1.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nReasons, Feelings, and Close Teaching: Writing that Matters in an Era of Artificial Empathy<\/h6>\n\n\n\nFriday, October 9, 12-1pm<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\nChase Lounge<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\nPrior to the lecture, there will be refreshments available beginning at 11:30 pm. Attendees are also welcome to bring lunch from the Den or bring your own lunch from home.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHumanities writing classes are full of feeling. Whether we\u2019ve recognized it or not, navigating the structures of how writing feels has always been a skill we\u2019ve taught. This talk proposes that such skills are some of the most valuable forms of expertise that humanists can provide in our current technological moment. Companies like OpenAI take their name from the marketing term \u201cartificial intelligence.\u201d But judging from their commercials, a better name for what they sell might be artificial\u00a0empathy<\/em>. To students facing an overwhelming world\u2014a world of political and economic upheaval, environmental calamity, educational expense, and (according to ads) stressful first dates\u2014OpenAI offers certainty, accomplishment, and the promise of enduring support. Students aren\u2019t dumb to seek out those consolations. But humanists are uniquely positioned to help students realize how the empathetic optimism on offer from \u201cAI\u201d might be inherently cruel.\u00a0\u00a0By emphasizing how critical thinking and feeling combine, we can help writing students recognize the worth of embodied intellectual, social, and political relationships that may sometimes feel difficult, but offer us a world of support that\u2019s real.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFormally known as the\u00a0Emily Carroll \u201999 Carleton English Guest Lecture,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0this college event is\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>funded by the King Family Charitable Lead Trust in honor of the positive experiences of Emily Carleton \u201999 at Bates College, and also her graduation from the institution. This fund will, at the discretion of the English department, support guest lecturers on campus for the benefit of Bates students and faculty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Sarah Mesle Professor of Writing at USCCurrent Visiting Senior Lecturer in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2012,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_prepend":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append_before_footer":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_hide_page_title":false,"_header_override":"","_template_width_override":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"_sidebarChoice":"","footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-2629","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions\/2633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Chase Lounge<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\nPrior to the lecture, there will be refreshments available beginning at 11:30 pm. Attendees are also welcome to bring lunch from the Den or bring your own lunch from home.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHumanities writing classes are full of feeling. Whether we\u2019ve recognized it or not, navigating the structures of how writing feels has always been a skill we\u2019ve taught. This talk proposes that such skills are some of the most valuable forms of expertise that humanists can provide in our current technological moment. Companies like OpenAI take their name from the marketing term \u201cartificial intelligence.\u201d But judging from their commercials, a better name for what they sell might be artificial\u00a0empathy<\/em>. To students facing an overwhelming world\u2014a world of political and economic upheaval, environmental calamity, educational expense, and (according to ads) stressful first dates\u2014OpenAI offers certainty, accomplishment, and the promise of enduring support. Students aren\u2019t dumb to seek out those consolations. But humanists are uniquely positioned to help students realize how the empathetic optimism on offer from \u201cAI\u201d might be inherently cruel.\u00a0\u00a0By emphasizing how critical thinking and feeling combine, we can help writing students recognize the worth of embodied intellectual, social, and political relationships that may sometimes feel difficult, but offer us a world of support that\u2019s real.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFormally known as the\u00a0Emily Carroll \u201999 Carleton English Guest Lecture,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0this college event is\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>funded by the King Family Charitable Lead Trust in honor of the positive experiences of Emily Carleton \u201999 at Bates College, and also her graduation from the institution. This fund will, at the discretion of the English department, support guest lecturers on campus for the benefit of Bates students and faculty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Sarah Mesle Professor of Writing at USCCurrent Visiting Senior Lecturer in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2012,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_prepend":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append_before_footer":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_hide_page_title":false,"_header_override":"","_template_width_override":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"_sidebarChoice":"","footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-2629","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions\/2633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Humanities writing classes are full of feeling. Whether we\u2019ve recognized it or not, navigating the structures of how writing feels has always been a skill we\u2019ve taught. This talk proposes that such skills are some of the most valuable forms of expertise that humanists can provide in our current technological moment. Companies like OpenAI take their name from the marketing term \u201cartificial intelligence.\u201d But judging from their commercials, a better name for what they sell might be artificial\u00a0empathy<\/em>. To students facing an overwhelming world\u2014a world of political and economic upheaval, environmental calamity, educational expense, and (according to ads) stressful first dates\u2014OpenAI offers certainty, accomplishment, and the promise of enduring support. Students aren\u2019t dumb to seek out those consolations. But humanists are uniquely positioned to help students realize how the empathetic optimism on offer from \u201cAI\u201d might be inherently cruel.\u00a0\u00a0By emphasizing how critical thinking and feeling combine, we can help writing students recognize the worth of embodied intellectual, social, and political relationships that may sometimes feel difficult, but offer us a world of support that\u2019s real.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Formally known as the\u00a0Emily Carroll \u201999 Carleton English Guest Lecture,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0this college event is\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>funded by the King Family Charitable Lead Trust in honor of the positive experiences of Emily Carleton \u201999 at Bates College, and also her graduation from the institution. This fund will, at the discretion of the English department, support guest lecturers on campus for the benefit of Bates students and faculty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dr. Sarah Mesle Professor of Writing at USCCurrent Visiting Senior Lecturer in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2012,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_prepend":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append":false,"_batesModPostContentOverride_append_before_footer":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_hide_page_title":false,"_header_override":"","_template_width_override":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"_sidebarChoice":"","footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-2629","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2629\/revisions\/2633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n