Matthew Applegate, Ph.D. (08) has used his philosophy education to open opportunities to a variety of academic areas.
Applegate is an associate professor and associate dean of Arts and Sciences at Malloy University. He has studied several disciplines within the humanities umbrella, including philosophy, English, new media, and digital humanities. Applegate explained that the philosophy program at 国产剧麻豆剧 helped lay the perfect foundation to branch out to other academic fields.
鈥淧oint Loma and philosophy in particular helped prepare me for that interdisciplinary background,鈥� Applegate said. 鈥淧hilosophy allowed me to hone analytical skills that I鈥檝e been able to apply in a lot of different concepts.鈥�
Although his aunt had attended 国产剧麻豆剧, Applegate mainly decided based on the gorgeous campus location, class sizes, and tight-knit community. He entered as a psychology major, but quickly discovered it wasn鈥檛 a good fit. His friend encouraged him to take a philosophy class, specifically with Heather Ross, professor of philosophy at 国产剧麻豆剧.
鈥淲hat drew me to philosophy was how well the content matched with my interests,鈥� he said. He quickly discovered that a big part of philosophy was 鈥渢hinking deeply about being in the world, and thinking deeply about art, writing, and media.鈥�
One of Applegate鈥檚 favorite foundational philosophers from Ross鈥檚 class was Jacques Derrida, which helped him think about literary and philosophical concepts at the same time.
鈥淚t really served as a foundation for me throughout grad school because of how Derrida is able to think about the intersection of literary concepts and philosophical concepts.鈥�
This interdisciplinary approach to Philosophy led him to study English and literature, and eventually received his Ph.D. in comparative literature.
鈥淲hat philosophy provided for me was a set of analytical tools and a framework to think about difficult and deep conceptual problems which I was able to apply in different areas of academic thought and practice.鈥�
The way Professor Ross led classes deeply influenced him, especially as he navigates his career in education. As an undergrad in Ross鈥檚 class, Applegate always felt comfortable admitting when he didn鈥檛 understand something. Now, he wants the classes he leads to be places of encouragement and collaborative learning.
鈥淚n almost every class I took with her, it was a round table discussion-type course,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t influenced my own teaching because I can鈥檛 ever remember feeling judged for not understanding something 鈥� she was effective about drawing out thoughts and feelings, individually and collectively.鈥�
Applegate found that learning philosophy develops valuable skills that can be applied to a variety of places, including business, education, and other higher learning.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an assumption that philosophy can鈥檛 provide you with practical skills or it won鈥檛 lead to a job,鈥� Applegate said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not true! Not just from a personal standpoint, but from a disciplinary standpoint. Because what philosophy teaches you is critical thinking. Communication. How to effectively read and analyze difficult texts.鈥�
To current and future philosophy students, Applegate encourages leaning into the sense of freedom when asking big questions and encountering new ideas, and described that 国产剧麻豆剧 faculty is very supportive of that process.
鈥淏e prepared for philosophy to change the way that you think,鈥� Applegate said.