Professor
      Focus
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Dr.
      David
      Buck
     
    
   
   
    
     
      The
      empires
      of
      antiquity
      were
      full
      of
      some
      wild
      and
      crazy
     
    

    
     
      guys,
      or
      so
      one
      would
      gather
      from
      Professor
      Buck’s
      lectures.
     
    

    
     
      Dr.
      David
      Buck
      is
      Chairman
      of
      the
      UPEI
      Classics
      Depart-
     
    

    
     
      ment,
      and
      is
      embarking
      on
      his
      sixth
      year
      as
      a
      faculty
      mem-
     
    

    
     
      ber.
      Last
      week,
      ‘
      ‘Professor
      Focus’’
      interviewed
      this
      man,
     
    

    
     
      who
      once
      summed
      up
      the
      monarchy’s
      approach
      to
      new
      ideas
     
     
      in
      the
      simple
      maxim,
      ‘‘If
      you
      can’t
      refute,
      execute.”’
     
    
   
   
    
     
        
     
     
         
     
     
        
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
         
     
     
         
     
     
       
     
     
        
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
       
     
     
         
     
     
         
     
     
         
     
     
       
     
     
         
     
     
        
     
     
        
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Q:
      Do
      you
      see
      yourself
      more
      as
      a
      teacher
      or
      as
      a
      research
     
     
      scholar?
      ;
     
    
   
   
    
     
      A:
      I
      don’t
      think
      there’s
      really
      esséntially
      a
      distinction
     
     
      between
      teaching
      and
      scholarship.
      Ideally
      you
      have
      senior
     
     
      scholars
      introducing
      younger
      scholars
      into
      this
      profession.
     
     
      My
      ideal
      is
      not
      to
      have
      students
      who
      are
      emotionally
      or
     
     
      intellectually
      dependent
      on
      the
      professor,
      which
      means
      I
     
     
      occasionally
      seem
      a
      bit
      harsh
      or
      uncaring.
      I’m
      not
      -
      but
      my
     
     
      ideal
      is
      to
      give
      each
      student
      the
      tools
      to
      fly
      on
      his
      or
      her
     
     
      own.
      It’s
      your
      essay,
      here’s
      a
      topic.
      It’s
      the
      sort
      of
      topic
      that
     
     
      you
      have
      to
      define
      to
      some
      extent
      yourself
      -
      see
      what
      you
     
     
      can
      do
      with
      it.
      It’s
      not
      ‘‘learn
      these
      five
      things
      and
      regurgi-
     
     
      tate.’?
      Students
      come
      and
      say,
      ‘‘How
      long
      should
      the
      essay
     
     
      be?’’,
      and
      I
      may
      say
      500
      or
      5000
      words,
      and
      I
      may
      also
      say
     
     
      ‘‘As
      long
      as
      it
      needs
      to
      be.”’
      They
      come
      and
      say
      things
      like
     
     
      ‘‘What
      do
      you
      want?’’,
      basically,
      ‘‘What’s
      the
      right
      an-
     
     
      swer?’’
      I
      want
      essays
      which
      are
      valid.
      They
      don’t
      have
      to
     
     
      agree
      with
      me,
      but
      they
      have
      to
      make
      a
      valid
      case.
      I’m
      not
     
     
      prepared
      to
      say
      ‘‘
      Well,
      because
      there’s
      1500
      words
      on
      this
     
     
      page,
      therefore,
      it’s
      going
      to
      get
      through.’’”
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Q:
      Do
      you
      like
      to
      get
      to
      know
      your
      students
      personally?
      Does
     
     
      that
      matter?
     
    
   
   
    
     
      A:
      lamas
      a
      person
      stand-offish.
      If
      I
      like
      the
      student
      and
      the
     
     
      student
      like
      me,
      we
      can
      become
      friends.
      In
      a
      sense,
      I
      usually
     
     
      prefer
      anonymity
      because
      when
      you
      start
      to
      get
      to
      know
      a
     
     
      Student
      it
      becomes
      a
      bit
      harder
      to
      be
      objective.
      I
      always
     
     
      went
      to
      large
      universities
      where
      there’s
      always,
      even
      in
     
     
      small
      departments,
      a
      certain
      amount
      of
      distance
      and
      objec-
     
     
      livity
      in
      the
      relationship.
      I’m
      always
      willing
      to
      talk
      with
     
     
      Students
      ,
      but
      I’m
      not
      going
      to
      try
      to
      make
      their
      social
      lives
     
     
      Part
      of
      my
      social
      life.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      :
      Do
      you
      prefer
      small
      classes,
      or
      teaching
      to
      a
      full
      amphi-
     
     
      heatre?
     
    
   
   
    
     
      :
      There’s
      two
      entirely
      different
      kinds
      of
      teaching.
      Witha
     
     
      arge
      class
      you
      have
      an
      audience.
      You’rea
      performer.
      One
     
     
      €ctures,
      one
      can
      build
      up
      a
      rapport
      with
      the
      audience.
      They
     
     
      an
      getto
      know
      your
      style
      of
      humour.
      You
      can
      tell
      jokes,
     
     
      hey
      will
      laugh.
      And
      it
      is
      a
      kind
      of
      high
      to
      be
      the
      performer
     
     
      n
      front
      of
      the
      audience.
      Equally,
      it
      can
      be
      very
      good
      witha
     
     
      mall
      class
      of
      good
      students.
      A
      small
      class
      with
      bad
      stu-
     
    
   
   
    
     
      dents
      or
      dull
      students
      or
      uninterested
      students
      is
      like
      the
     
     
      dentist’s
      waiting
      room.
      What’s
      really
      difficult
      is
      the
      class
     
     
      around
      ten
      or
      fifteen
      that
      doesn’t
      gel
      because
      the
      students
     
     
      aren’t
      prepared
      to
      engage
      in
      dialogue.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Q:
      What
      is
      your
      favourite
      course
      to
      teach?
      Do
      You
      have
      one?
     
    
   
   
    
     
      A:
      No,
      I
      don’t
      think
      I
      have
      one.
      I
      think
      one
      of
      the
      very
      nice
     
     
      things
      about
      being
      here
      at
      UPEI
      is
      that
      I
      am
      doing
      what
      I
     
     
      want
      to
      do.
      Being
      effectively
      a
      one-person
      department,
      I
     
     
      only
      teach
      what
      I
      enjoy
      teaching.
      I
      like
      Greek
      tragedy
      and
     
     
      Greek
      comedy,
      so
      I
      teach
      that.
      I’m
      a
      Roman
      historian,
      so
      I
     
     
      teach
      the
      Roman
      history
      courses,
      and
      Greek
      and
      Latin.
      So,
      in
     
     
      any
      given
      year,
      there
      may
      be
      a
      favourite
      course,
      but
      that’s
     
     
      largely
      because
      that’s
      going
      best
      with
      the
      students.
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      PEI
      X-P
      RESS
     
    
   
   
    
     
        
     
    
   
   
    
     
      September
      24,
      1992