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Jay Beavers

Assistant Professor of English

Jay Beavers, assistant professor of English, did not originally plan to become an educator.

鈥淚t took me a while to figure out [that] I really like talking about [literature] with other people and sharing it with students and digging into scholarship,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was one of those things that the more I did it, the more I fell in love with it.鈥�

While attending graduate school, Beavers heard about Union from friends with connections at the university. He began teaching at Union in 2016.

Beavers said the classes he is currently teaching at a given time become his favorite. However, he is particularly drawn to American literature. He is currently working to turn his dissertation, which focuses on prophetic characters and themes in the novels of contemporary American writer Cormac McCarthy, into a book.

鈥淸McCarthy]鈥檚 an interesting author in terms of religious themes,鈥� Beavers said. 鈥淚 think his criticisms of Christianity or of things like politics or the way we use money or the way we treat people have a lot in common with the criticisms that ancient Old Testament prophets would level against their own societies in an attempt to call those societies back to a more righteous state, more in line with the commandments.鈥�

Beavers wants his students to share his love for the written word as a guide to understand truth.

鈥淚n a deeper sense, I think that language is one of the best ways we have for understanding God and his creation, especially his human creation, and that if we can understand how language works, we can understand how humans think and operate,鈥� Beavers said. 鈥淭his is part of what we鈥檙e called to do as Christians, but also it鈥檚 a whole lot of fun. It鈥檚 just an amazing, delightful experience. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to get across.鈥�

By Naomi Mengel (鈥�21)

University Profile for Jay Beavers