Meet Our Faculty: Dan Barber, Classics

Dr. Daniel Barber came to Middlesex from Creighton University, where he taught in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies.  He completed his doctorate in classics at the University of Virginia after earning his M.A. in Latin there, and he holds a B.A. in classics from Cornell University.  Dan is the author of a number of scholarly articles and book reviews on Latin poetry, especially the lyric poetry of Horace, the subject of his dissertation.  Before his position at Creighton, he taught and coached wrestling at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA.  

You’re a West Coast native, but you’ve been on the East Coast for a good portion of your life.  Is there a difference between the cultures on the two coasts, or is that a myth?

The biggest differences are meteorological! It’s true I’ve spent many years on the East Coast, but I manage to make it back to California now and again. I appreciate the mild weather and scenery of the West, but I also love the history and distinctive charm of New England. I’ve been blessed to live in a number of different regions of the country, each with their own character; in the Northeast, there is an amazing educational tradition, especially in Classics, and so many incredible schools and universities. The culture of learning and education here captivated me as an undergraduate and never let me go.

How did you come to love the classics?  What still excites you about your discipline?

As a child I was an avid reader, but I began Greek and Latin in college, where I was inspired by a seminar on Greek art. I didn’t give much thought at the time to where it might take me. What I loved about Classics then and what I continue to love about it is how it encompasses so many different humanistic disciplines — literature, history, philosophy etc.– yet still has so many unique lessons of its own to impart. Everything I learned when I was an undergraduate felt new and exciting, and reshaped my understanding of our own history and culture. As I’ve grown as a scholar and a teacher, I have been especially fascinated by the way in which classical languages and Greek and Roman culture are deeply intertwined with the world of our daily experience. Scarcely five miles from Middlesex, Thoreau once rested his copy of Homer’s Iliad on his table by Walden Pond while he worked his fields. So it is with us — we cannot be far separated from our classical heritage.

You taught at the college level before coming to Middlesex.  Why do you enjoy teaching and coaching teenagers?

I taught for five years at the University of Virginia while I was a graduate student and then for two years at Creighton University. But independent school teaching was my first love; I took a job teaching Latin at a small K-8 school in my hometown of Los Gatos, CA right out of college, and my experience there was the catalyst for my whole subsequent career in education. I don’t think there is an enormous difference between high school and college classroom instruction — especially at Middlesex, where the students are so talented — but the life of a teacher outside of the classroom is vastly different from the life of an academic. College students have usually figured more or less who they are and where they are going, although professors certainly have an impact at the margins. Teenagers are still constructing their best selves, and teachers, especially at a residential school like Middlesex, can play a critical role. It’s invigorating work. 

You coach both cross-country and wrestling.  What do you love about these two sports?

It is true that running and wrestling differ in many ways, but they also complement each other. When I was a competitive wrestler, running was how I built endurance and pushed my mental limits. There is a peacefulness to long-distance running that prepares one, physically and mentally, to stay calm and levelheaded in moments of great exertion or crisis. With wrestling, the combination of intellectual challenge and intense and trying competition continues to fascinate me. There is an intricate strategy to every great match — trying to force an opponent into a mistake and then to capitalize — but no sport can say it requires greater toughness and endurance of pain. Both sports, incidentally, were part of the ancient Greek pentathlon — proof they belong together!

You have two sons, ages 3 and 6.  What has being a parent taught you?

Patience. Also saying no in the nicest possible way and keeping everything in perspective. It’s easy to lose sight of how quickly they grow and change.