5 Questions with Jules Carr-Chellman

As a junior and again as a senior, Jules Carr-Chellman earned $750 as a winner of UD’s McGrath Award, given for rigorous research into the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His paper titles: “Camus and the Absurdity of Desalination” and “Visual Rhetoric of the Persecuted Christian Right.” He also likes woodworking. 

 1. A question college seniors hear ad nauseum: Do you have a job after UD?

Yes, I’ll be working in construction management for Fischer Homes in Dayton. 

2. What did you major in? Business? Engineering?

Philosophy, with an economics minor. I also grew up on a building site; my dad built our house. I’ve worked on an irrigation system on a ranch in Wyoming. I enjoy manual labor. In my wood working, I use hand tools — chisels, planes, gouges. I enjoy the process — that’s something I learned in philosophy. 

3. Did you discover philosophy in college?

I’m interested in ideas. I think I’ve known my whole life I wanted to study philosophy in college. It’s not taught in high school, but it’s founded countries, developed economic systems, crafted laws. Everything falls under it. It’s the field that walks the dogs. I’ll use it every day in my job. I was drawn to it because I wanted to be a better person, and philosophy teaches us that. Many colleges have become more like trade schools. Practical skills are important. The liberal arts, however, will never be replaced. They are permanent. 

4. And philosophy permeates your award-winning papers?

Philosophy teaches us to question. It takes time to learn to think on one’s own. Often, however, people accept claims simply because of an authority — a professor, a priest, scientist. When I examined desalination as a solution to water problems in the American southwest, I noted an overly optimistic reliance on what science might accomplish and a deflection of personal responsibility. At a visit to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, I was struck by its visual rhetoric of security forces, firearms, canines and uniforms — giving an aura of right-wing Christianity being physically threatened, though I was skeptical there was such a threat. I also noticed that its Bible citations did not come from the same translation but from several. 

5. Besides your major and minor, what has contributed to your education at UD?

Core [an interdisciplinary approach to fulfilling many of the Common Academic Program requirement] is probably the best thing I did — other the writing and publishing. And I love The Write Place [student writing consulting]; it’s probably the best job I even had. Working on the ranch was fun, but hard. I like The Write Place’s approach to learning how to write well. During half-hour appointments, students focus first on content and structure, later, on mechanics. Tutoring there made me a much better teacher and a much better writer. And it taught me to be nice. At least, in delivering feedback, not to be rude.