Alex Moskowitz ’11

Alex Moskowitz ’11 (literature) describes himself as having
been, before his senior project, “an exceedingly ordinary student.”

He was empowered by the freedom to write on any topic he chose; it allowed him to connect his academic interests with his personal ones.

The process unleashed his critical thinking skills and the result was a 96-page thesis that explored the poetry of Allen Ginsberg and the historical and cultural context in which it was written.

His project questioned negative criticism of Ginsberg’s work by challenging the prevailing stream of literary scholarship of the day: New Criticism.

“Critical thinking is something that extends beyond any one specific essay or class, and is important for all aspects of life. Gaining this ability to dissect various texts, contexts, and situations through writing the senior project is what has guided my approach to everything since then,” he says.

Moskowitz completed his MA in English at Boston College in 2014. After living in Prague working as both a copywriter and an English teacher, he  returned to Boston College to pursue his PhD in English. He hopes someday to study and teach literature.