Dr. Matthew Ayres
Academic Rank:
Associate Professor, Assistant Chair
Department:
English & Philosophy
School:
Liberal Arts
Office: CH 339
Phone: 973-328-5476
Email: mayres1@ccm.edu
Education: Ph.D., Indiana University of Pennsylvania M.A., National University of Ireland, Galway B.A., Bard College
Hired: 2007
I have always been moved by the written word. Great writers are able to give voice to some of the most significant moments of the human experience. I remember reading James Joyce’s “The Dead” for the first time and being touched by his description of the snow falling “generally all over Ireland” and of Gabriel’s epiphany, as he ruminates about life and death at the end of the story. I love what I teach, and I hope this passion is evident to anyone who walks into my classroom.
Working at a community college gives me the opportunity to focus the majority of my attention on the students. I love it when students are actively engaged with the texts we read, whether that engagement takes place in their writings or in discussion. To me, there is nothing better than a great discussion in the classroom. It is so much more satisfying than standing in front of a class lecturing to the students. Through these discussions I like to think that I learn as much from the students as they do from me. More than likely, I would not have the same luxury in a larger four-year institution.
Courses Taught: Composition I, Composition II, English Classics, Major British Writers, The Novel, World Literary Traditions: Beginnings to 1650, American Literature from the Civil War to the Twentieth Century