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“By far my favorite course of my first semester at BC. I looked forward to coming to this class every MFW. Matt is extremely understanding and flexible and listens very well to the students and our opinions. The classwork was interesting and presented in a way that prioritized learning instead of memorization or grades which was awesome!!!” — Fall 2019, PHIL107024 (Boston College) "This was not the typical philosophy course, but I have learned more in this course than in any other philosophy class I have taken. I now view philosophy in a different way and I couldn't be more grateful for it. Professor Dill is great and always willing to help!” — Fall 2023, PHIL107039 (Boston College) "The class is unlike any I have taken before. Student's opinions are so valued and the discussions we had were so interesting and eye–opening. We were highly encouraged to participate and share our ideas, and it made class so much more interesting and insightful in comparison to a lecture.” — Spring 2024, PHIL107101 (Boston College) “The professor really took the time to help us understand the readings. He catered the discussions to what we need to unpack the most and what we found interesting. The professor made sure that we were learning information without overwhelming us with work. I think this course is exactly what a philosophy class should be!” — Fall 2022, PHIL107039 (Boston College) "This is my favorite class I have taken at BC. The professor direction and the discussion based learning were excellent.” — Spring 2024, PHIL107101 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is one of the best professors I have had during my time at BC. I absolutely love his style of teaching and how he encourages us to have our own thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the material we read. This is something that tends not to happen in most classes as we are constantly getting information down our throats and never get the chance to really think and discuss complex topics that we find enriching and beneficial to our daily lives.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107039 (Boston College) “– Prof Dill is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate, his enthusiasm for philosophy is infectious AND he is not condescending. Very humble! :) – class is organized clearly – fair coursework, manageable to complete readings and other assignments in the designated time frame – Prof is very respectful of student comments, never made a student feel dumb for asking for clarification or sharing their personal insights – enjoyed the structure of the class, small group discussion was a nice way to refresh reading and bond with classmates, large discussion allowed for diverse perspectives to be heard” — Fall 2021, PHIL107039 (Boston College) “The organization of this course was flexible and humanizing. Professor Dill does a wonderful job balancing the humanity of his students with his expectations of them. The in class discussions were fascinating.” — Fall 2019, PHIL107024 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is an amazing professor and deeply cares about his students and truly wants them to gain something from philosophy. Because of him, I have wanted to continue to pursue elective classes in philosophy. He is genuinely outstanding and should be teaching more philosophy courses at BC!” — Spring 2024, PHIL107139 (Boston College) "Professor Dill creates the most open classroom environment I've ever seen. Everyone is open to hearing the perspectives of other students, and Dill sets the tone in doing so.” — Spring 2024, PHIL107101 (Boston College) “He is very good at hyper–analyzing philosophical texts and inviting us to participate. Something about his demeanor gets everyone super invested in the discussion.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107001 (Boston College) “He was the best and truly treats his students as humans and philosophers themselves. He creates a very open and positive environment where anyone should feel comfortable being vulnerable and participating.” — Spring 2022, PHIL107139 (Boston College) “Absolutely love Professor Dill! Always willing to help out and put extra work into making sure that we understand the content and can improve as students.” — 2021 Fall, PHIL107001 (Boston College) “Professor Dill is a very excellent professor. Philosophy could be very stressful and boring, but he makes it interesting. He really is a very extraordinary teacher.” — 2021 Fall, PHIL107039 (Boston College) "I think the strength of this course is the environment that Professor Dill creates. I have never felt so comfortable being vulnerable or sharing personal stories. Professor Dill listens to all with care, and I very much appreciated this in a Philosophy class.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107001 (Boston College) “Prof. Dill has the best personality out of any professor I've had at BC. I always feel relaxed and peaceful in class.” — Fall 2021, PHIL107001 (Boston College) “Professor Dill (Matt) is one of the best people and professors at Boston College. Most definitely made an impact on my life.” — Spring 2022, PHIL107139 (Boston College) “Professor Dill was able to allow for open and fluid discussion of the material and always open for changes to the structure of the class that maximize the efficiency in our learning and ability to interact with each other and the material. Professor Dill has always been honest with the subject he has us read and explains the significance to why we read the material and the context of why that material was made to begin with.” — Spring 2024, PHIL107101 (Boston College) |
“Professor Dill has been my favorite professor I have had at Boston College. He makes learning philosophy interesting and exciting. As a STEM student who was always intimidated by philosophy, he was the perfect professor to have. I have recommended taking a class with Professor Dill to all of my friends, students I mentor through the Mendel society, and anyone who asks for a philosophy professor recommendation. It is clear how brilliant Professor Dill is. He is able to answer all questions, thinks very deeply and makes great connections that no one else would be able to think of, and most importantly, is great at conveying his knowledge to the students. Professor Dill was always respectful of all views and opinions. Sometimes we would talk about controversial ideas, but he was always accepting of all viewpoints and made the classroom space feel safe. I genuinely cannot express my gratitude, respect, and admiration for Professor Dill.” — Spring 2022, PHIL107101 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is the best professor/teacher in all my years of schooling at treating students with respect and cultivating a welcoming environment. Could not give a higher review for a professor.” — Spring 2024, PHIL107101 (Boston College) “Professor Dill is one of my favorite professors. He was always there to help and answer any questions that I had. He was eager to hear my perspective on the philosophy in class, as well as other students. Professor Dill also guides the in class discussions really well, it feels like a conversation but is incredibly thoughtful. I feel like I learned more in this class than I have in most of my classes this semester while being online. I looked forward to this class everyday.” — Spring 2021, PHIL107121 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is an amazing professor and deeply cares about his students and truly wants them to gain something from philosophy. Because of him, I have wanted to continue to pursue elective classes in philosophy. He is genuinely outstanding and should be teaching more philosophy courses at BC!” — Spring 2024, PHIL107139 (Boston College) “I thoroughly enjoyed class discussions. The professor was approachable and sympathetic. He was the best professor I have had at BC. The Perusall comments were a good way to create discussion before class even started.” — 2021 Spring, PHIL107124 (Boston College) “I have never been in a class as welcoming as Matt's. I learned so much from the discussion–based style of the course and always felt as though my voice was heard. Matt is an incredible professor and I hope to continue our discussions in the future.” — Spring 2022, PHIL107139 (Boston College) "Professor Dill has a unique ability to create an extremely engaging classroom environment where everyone is encouraged to share their opinions without fear of being ridiculed. He does an excellent job at explaining the tougher philosophical concepts.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107001 (Boston College) “Matt is one of the most thoughtful and genuine professors I have had at BC. I truly can't say enough good things.” — Fall 2022, PHIL107039 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is amazing! Every class was something new and he always was interested in having us talk about what interested us most and what was on our minds rather than having a clear agenda of what we must memorize. I feel like after this class, I am genuinely much better at philosophical thinking rather than having just been exposed to philosophical texts. He's a fantastic professor: easy to talk to, understanding, and engaging!” — Fall 2023, PHIL107039 (Boston College) “He created a super comfortable environment for discussing potentially controversial topics. He made me enjoy philosophy again by making a discussion based class so comfortable and fun. I learned so much.” — Spring 2023, PHIL107139 (Boston College) "This was one of the most welcoming environments that I have had in a class at BC so far. There was no pressure to say or behave a certain way, which made our discussions honest and open in a way that I have never seen before.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107039 (Boston College) “An astonishingly brilliant man. Every word he speaks is meticulously chosen, he is clearly still a student of the topic which creates an immense amount of passion.” — Fall 2022, PHIL107039 (Boston College) “I loved the class discussions that this class offered. It was unlike anything that I've had in any of my other (more STEM) classes, and I felt welcomed and able to engage in discussion in a way that I haven't before.” — Fall 2023, PHIL107039 (Boston College) "Professor Dill is probably my favorite professor at Boston College. He was so transparent and real. He knew how to approach class time with college students, and he was genuinely interested in what we wanted to talk about, and how we were doing. I've never been in a class where the first words out of the professor's mouth was, ‘how is everyone doing.’ And it wasn't a meaningless question to get everyone comfortable, it was a genuine question, and if someone answered his question we would talk about it. He created so much psychological safety in the classroom that our conversations often flowed effortlessly, and it enhanced my understanding of the content so much more. Because he was vulnerable and put his real self out there, it encouraged students to do the same, and made everyone more comfortable in saying what they really thought about the subject matter. I think what professor Dill does best is making people feel heard. He's always listening to what people say when they speak, and when they are done they reiterate their point back to them to make sure that he understood them correctly and asked challenging questions to further understanding, or confirmed their statement as being ‘correct’ or on the right track towards understanding. Amazing professor. Protect him at all costs. Make sure he stays teaching here because he makes me proud to be a Boston College student.” — Spring 2023, PHIL107139 (Boston College) |
