Ben Barsotti Scott

I’m a writer and researcher based in New York City. I also curate exhibitions, primarily through a collaborative project called Bad Little Brother. And I’m a student of historical geography, currently researching a series of civilian-led blockades of US Navy terminals in the final years of the US war in Vietnam.

Occasionally, I also teach undergraduate seminars in the social sciences and humanities: see the syllabus for my 2022 course on contemporary architectural theory here and the syllabus for my 2025 course on critical cartography here. And read testimonials from some of my recent students here.

Even more occasionally, I write for architecture and geography publications like the the New York Review of Architecture, Critical Planning Journal, and Journal of Landscape Architecture.

You can see my full CV here and you can contact me here.

Ben Barsotti Scott
urban historical geographer and independent curator in New York, NY.

See some of my recent work below. You can contact me here.


RESEARCH
People’s blockades against the ‘Automated Air War’
2024︎︎︎present
My current research focuses on the 1972 People’s Blockade, a series of civilian occupations of naval ports and munitions depots in New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, California, and Washington State during the US War in Vietnam. I’m particularly interested in the civilian-led waterborne blockades that attempted to stop US Navy ships from redeploying for Southeast Asia.

If you were involved in a blockade and are interested in telling me about your experiences, or if you were active military on a ship, train or other site that was blockaded by civilians around 1971-2, please email me here.






Unless otherwise noted, all above images are sourced from the 1972 document “Why the People’s Blockade?” published by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).