Joshua Matson
Joshua Matson - FSU Doctoral Student (Religion) - Digital Narratives | English | Digital Narratives | April 24, 2020
Why FSU?
Florida State University has one of the few programs in North America that offers balanced training in the study of religion in antiquity and provides access to a renowned professor in Dead Sea Scrolls research.
Motivation to pursue a graduate degree
My love of learning and the pursuit of further knowledge in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Additionally, my obsession with puzzles could only be satisfied by writing this dissertation!
Importance of your research
My research and work is important as it highlights and bring to life the process by which religious communities collect and authorize texts and underscores how the interpretations of those texts comes about over time. While we may assume that such processes are limited to antiquity, even in our current world there is a constant shaping of interpretation of authoritative religious texts that play a pivotal role in how individuals live their lives, how they vote or participate in politics, and how the interact with one another.
Advice for prospective graduate students
Study what you love and pursue it with all your heart. If you love what you are going to study, graduate school will be the best thing you have ever experienced. If you are pursuing it for a career or for prestige, it isn’t worth it!
Accomplishments during graduate career
I am most proud that I was able to obtain sufficient grant funding from Florida State University, Brigham Young University, the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the State of Israel, to spend a year abroad, studying in Israel, handling Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts, walking where the authors of the texts walked, and working with some of the brightest and most talented minds in Dead Sea Scrolls research.
Career aspirations
My greatest aspiration in a career is to help people better understand the development of religious ideas in the past and help them navigate the utilization of religion in our world today. Whether that is as a teacher in the classroom, as an author on a page, as a counselor or an adviser in an office.
Funding
Funding I received while pursuing my PhD:
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- Florida State University Fellows Society Dissertation Fellowship (20-21)
- Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (20-21)
- Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (19-20)
- Israel Council for Higher Education Fellowship for PhD Research in Israel (18-19)
- Orion Center for Dead Sea Scrolls Research Scholarship Award (18-19)
- FSU Graduate Student International Dissertation Research Award (18-19)
- Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (18-19)