Professor enjoys ‘frontier quality’ of USU
With a love for teaching and a passion for the work he does, Mark Damen, a professor with a joint appointment in the history and theater arts departments, believes eloquence and a certain air for performance are needed to share with his students all he has learned about the classical age.
The son of a Dutch father and an American mother, Damen’s childhood can be traced to many parts of Europe, including Paris. His roots also run into the southeast United States.
After some rough times in Europe, his father decided to take his family to America to find more opportunities, Damen said.
Because of his father’s career in the growing television industry, this single-child family wandered in the southern United States searching for a solid job.
Eventually they settled in Gainsville, Fla. where Damen did most of his growing up and eventually graduated from the University of Florida.
Damen said a lot of the influence for the decisions in his life came from his childhood and some things he learned from his father.
“I learned from him that you can make a difference in society by being able to phrase your ideas in an eloquent fashion,” Damen said.
He said, while he doesn’t do a television show like his father, he does classroom demonstrations that show the enjoyment of performance he inherited from his father.
“I think, in many ways, taking the opportunity to enhance your own life by sharing what you have learned from the experiences in your life with others is one of the great things that I learned from him,” Damen said.
Now as a professor of history and theater, Damen enjoys the challenge of expressing the things he learned in a way that can influence his students and the world around him.
Brian Harris, a student in electrical engineering, said he enjoys Damen’s energy and passion for what he does.
“I like that you can tell he loves teaching and he values his students’ opinions,” Harris said. “I especially enjoy that I don’t have to take notes in his class.”
After finishing his undergraduate work, Damen moved to the University of Texas in Austin to work on his doctorate in classics. He received his degree in Latin and Greek and the classical world.
There he met his wife, Frances Titchener, and found – because of their desires to work in the classical field – they couldn’t both get jobs in Austin.
“Love doesn’t work by logic,” Damen said.
So the couple set out to find an institution where they could work together.
Titchener found a job at Utah State University first teaching Greek and Roman history and Damen said he followed soon after when the university pieced together a position for him – teaching in four different departments.
Now in his 12th year at USU, Damen said, “I feel very comfortable in Logan because it is a great deal like the kind of town I grew up in. I really like the frontier quality of this institution, and that we are growing so rapidly.”
Damen said, now his focus in teaching is centered on ancient near-east history and theater. His main focuses are play writing and Latin and Greek languages, where he finds great joy in teaching.
He also enjoys the research he gets to do as he prepares the lectures for his classes.
“The discovery that comes with each of the classes that I am able to teach is really what to me is the best experience,” Damen said. “For me, the divisions between research and teaching are ultimately artificial. The classroom is a place where I am able to experiment on the ideas that I have which ultimately turn into research.”
Damen has a segment on KUSU, the local radio station.
“In a Word” is a segment giving Damen another opportunity to share his research with others. It runs on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“It’s a wonderful thing to have been lucky enough to find a job doing the thing you love. I’m very lucky in that respect and I can’t suppress my joy,” Damen said. “If I can find the positive things that I can grow from in an experience, then I am a happier person, and happier people live longer.”