Bio


Tesla Schaeffer is an Advanced Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of English at the University of Washington.

Tesla’s primary research interests include trauma studies, affect theory, multilingual learning and post-critical reading orientations, and she is currently working on a project related to reading and research strategies in first-year composition classes. Her PWR 1 course, “The Rhetoric of Disruption,” invites an exploration of what it means to witness deep social, cultural, political and environmental upheaval, and how we might orient ourselves in relation to such radical change. Her PWR 2 course, “The Rhetoric of Emotion,” treats feelings as serious sites of scholarly inquiry and as lenses through which to construct meaningful interpretations of lived experience.

Academic Appointments


  • PWR Advanced Lecturer, Writing and Rhetoric Studies

Administrative Appointments


  • Associate Director, Hume Center for Writing and Speaking (2021 - 2024)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


SPECIALIZATION: 20th Century Rhetoric and Literature; Trauma Studies; Theories of Affect and Emotion; Multilingual Learning; Composition Pedagogy

All Publications