Matthew Frierdich
Assistant Teaching Professor, MU Honors College, Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, Truman School of Government and Public Affairs
409D Jesse Hall
Phone: 573-882-3330
Email: mfghp@missouri.edu
Biography
Matthew Frierdich coordinates the collaborative Kinder Honors sequence in Revolutions and Constitutions. His dissertation, entitled “Turning Rubble and Memory into Seeds: Visions of Democracy in Monument Removal,” focuses on how activism around public memorializations of race and racialized violence offer possibilities and pitfalls for the work of social transformation. As memory becomes a popular political vernacular for articulating justice in the US and elsewhere, the project considers how memory activism raises questions about what democratic engagement must become to cultivate new ways of being human.
Originally from Kirkwood, Missouri, Dr. Frierdich holds a Ph.D. in Political Theory from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in History and Government from Drury University. He also received an M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and prior to his academic career served as a board-certified chaplain at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
To stay grounded in an otherwise chaotic world, Dr. Frierdich loves to tend to his garden, mostly vegetables and a few flowers. He also stays invested in Marvel comics, horror films, and anywhere that sells used books. His partner Emily, son Ezra, and cats Zelda and Tish fill up his cup every day.
Regularly Offered Honors Courses
- GN_HON 2245H