Meet Dr. Matthew Turnbull
Degrees and Experience
- Ph.D., English Literature (Baylor University)
- B.A., English Education (Washington State University)
- B.A., Psychology (Linfield College)
- Minors in Art & Music (Linfield College)
Biography and Professional Achievements
After graduating from Linfield College in Oregon in 1987, Matt spent four years in full-time campus ministry at Washington State University and the University of Idaho. After obtaining another degree (in English and Education), he spent twenty-one years as a bi-vocational pastor serving two community churches in rural Washington state. While pastoring, he was teaching junior high and high school students in literature, writing, Latin, and Great Texts.
In 2000, Matt founded Alexandria Tutorials, an online educational service for homeschooled students. He designed courses to help young minds cultivate an active intellectual curiosity, which is founded upon the idea that discovering truth in an area of inquiry is essentially a process of pursuing God's mind. In this context, 'faith seeking understanding' succinctly describes the foundation as well as the motive for study. His classes trained students to see their learning as an apprenticeship into the Great Conversation which has been continuing throughout the ages of Western civilization.
Journal Publication
- “From Aristotle to Augustine: Grace Transforming Nature in George Herbert’s ‘The Windows’,” The George Herbert Journal, 45, Spring 2024.
Book Review
- “Mark Twain: Preacher, Prophet, and Social Philosopher,” Mark Twain Journal, Vol. 60, No. 1, Spring 2022.
Academic Presentations
- “Augustinian Semiotics and Eve’s Dream Temptation in Milton’s Paradise Lost,” Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature, Baylor University, September 22, 2023.
- “The Sun, Adam, and Eve: Semiosis in Satan’s Book IV Soliloquies,” International Milton Symposium, Toronto, Canada, July 11, 2023.
- “The World as Art and Sign: Lucy Hutchinson’s Order and Disorder,” Art Seeking Understanding, Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, October 27, 2022.
- “Augustine Meets Ferdinand de Saussure in Lucy Hutchinson’s Order and Disorder,” Graduate Research Showcase, Baylor University, October 20, 2022.
- “The Preacher as Augustinian Sign in George Herbert’s ‘The Windows’,” South-Central Renaissance Conference, Online, March 3, 2022.
- “Martin Luther’s Anfechtungen and George Herbert’s ‘Conscience’,” South-Central Renaissance Conference, Online, March 25, 2021.
- “Virgil Miltonized,” 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers, Vanderbilt University, November 2, 2018.
Faith and Learning
When the eyes of the human soul discover the light of God’s beauty, learning becomes delight and an eager pursuit animated by love.