(785) 437-2471 [email protected]
Dr. Matthew Childs, whose primary scholarly focus is 20th century British and American literature, teaches upper-level Literature courses. His academic interest in literature began at the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a B.S. in English with Distinction, followed by an M.A. in English from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina, where he was a teaching assistant. He also holds an M.S. in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition to his dissertation, T.S Eliot’s Theater of the Eternal, which considers Eliot’s full-length plays of pilgrimage in light of Dante’s Divine Comedy, he has written articles published by The Angelus and The Latin Mass magazines, as well as the T.S. Eliot entry in the Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea. Dr. Childs has presented papers at professional conferences, including the annual meeting of the T.S. Eliot Society and the North American James Joyce Conference. He frequently shares his enthusiasm for literature in the McCabe Theater public lecture series and has in the past spoken at other SSPX schools and at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary. A retired U.S. Navy Commander, he served his country for twenty years in a wide range of assignments as a nuclear submariner, a USNA Master Instructor of English, a USNR recruiter, a reserve center commanding officer, a manpower analyst, and a European theater Joint Forces Headquarters exercise planner. In 2011 he and his family moved to St. Marys where he has since then taught in both the Academy and the College, as well as supporting the Rector and the Education Department of the SSPX US District in organizational leadership and advisory positions. A CrossFit level 2 coach, he is the affiliate owner of SMA CrossFit, where he offers physical training and conditioning classes for the men of the College and the Academy.
