It's a Don's Life

by Mary Beard

Mary Beard's blog A Don's Life has been running on the Times website since 2006. In it she has made her name as a wickedly subversive commentator on the world in which we live. Her central themes are the classics, universities and teaching—and much else besides. What are academics for? Who was the first African Roman emperor? Looting—ancient and modern. Are modern exams easier? Keep Lesbos for the Lesbians. Did St Valentine exist? What made the Romans laugh? That is just a small taste of this selection (and some of the choicer responses) which will inform, occasionally provoke and cannot fail to entertain.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics, Essays, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Academia

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Winifred Mary Beard (born 1 January 1955) is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and is a fellow of Newnham College. She is the Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement, and author of the blog "A Don's Life", which appears on The Times as a regular column. Her frequent media appearances and sometimes controversial public statements have led to her being described as "Britain's best-known classicist".

Mary Beard, an only child, was born on 1 January 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her father, Roy Whitbread Beard, worked as an architect in Shrewsbury. She recalled him as "a raffish public-schoolboy type and a complete wastrel, but very engaging". Her mother Joyce Emily Beard was a headmistress and an enthusiastic reader.

Mary Beard attended an all-female direct grant school. During the summer she participated in archaeological excavations; this was initially to earn money for recreational spending, but she began to find the study of antiquity unexpectedly interesting. But it was not all that interested the young Beard. She had friends in many age groups, and a number of trangressions: "Playing around with other people's husbands when you were 17 was bad news. Yes, I was a very naughty girl."

At the age of 18 she was interviewed for a place at Newnham College, Cambridge and sat the then compulsory entrance exam. She had thought of going to King's, but rejected it when she discovered the college did not offer scholarships to women. Although studying at a single-sex college, she found in her first year that some men in the University held dismissive attitudes towards women's academic potential, and this strengthened her determination to succeed. She also developed feminist views that remained "hugely important" in her later life, although she later described "modern orthodox feminism" as partly "cant". Beard received an MA at Newnham and remained in Cambridge for her PhD.

From 1979 to 1983 she lectured in Classics at King's College London. She returned to Cambridge in 1984 as a fellow of Newnham College and the only female lecturer in the Classics faculty. Rome in the Late Republic, which she co-wrote with the Cambridge ancient historian Michael Crawford, was published the same year. In 1985 Beard married Robin Sinclair Cormack. She had a daughter in 1985 and a son in 1987. Beard became Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement in 1992.

Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Beard was one of several authors invited to contribute articles on the topic to the London Review of Books. She opined that many people, once "the shock had faded", thought "the United States had it coming", and that "[w]orld bullies, even if their heart is in the right place, will in the end pay the price".[4] In a November 2007 interview, she stated that the hostility these comments provoked had still not subsided, although she believed it had become a standard viewpoint that terrorism was associated with American foreign policy.[1]

In 2004, Beard became the Professor of Classics at Cambridge.[3] She is also the Visiting Sather Professor of Classical Literature for 2008–2009 at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has delivered a series of lectures on "Roman Laughter".[5]

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of blog entries from a well-known Cambridge Classics professor, even though I have no particular interest in Greco-Roman culture or the ancient world. Many pieces are about the politics of university life: the perennial outcry about the dumbing down of A-levels and grade inflation, the pointlessly bizarre nature of the Oxbridge interview, the masculine bias in some university departments (‘willy-waving,’ as she calls it in one of her most commented upon posts). She also counters the ignorant assumption that dons don’t have much to do by giving a peek into her inbox and taking readers through a typical day, with all its meetings, supervisions, pieces to write and papers to mark.

She also does a fine job of debunking many myths about the Romans. For instance, the common idea that “fiddling while Rome was burning” meant that Emperor Nero was wasting time flapping about when he could have been doing something constructive to save the city. No, Nero was literally fiddling – playing a violin-like instrument in a kind of symbolic protest: “his first instinct in the face of crisis was to take refuge in the arts and high culture.”

[Penny Cipolone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful background read for all of us who have loved and appreciated Mary Beard's scholarly works. She is a treasure in the world of classical studies. Reading her blog makes you want to be her friend as well as her admirer. I so wish that I had had her as a professor (although she would probably have left me in such awe that I would have been scared to death).

[Jonathon McKenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice pre bed read-- short chapters and generally light topics. Some posts definitely better than others

[Emmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading an academic's blog; or at least a print version of it. I like how witty it is; and how Professor Beard can turn something mundane or quotidian into something Classical to talk about. All in all a good, gentle introduction to the Classical world at large without launching cannonball into the more heady, esoteric details. Others would appreciate how she continuously illuminates the applicability of what would seem to most an antiquated, subject of little practicality to everyday life/modern situations. At almost every blog entry I learn something new, and the comments add some lively banter that would be sorely missed if they had been excluded. The treatise on how Oxbridge comes up with its interview questions and how exams aren't getting any easier in this century were delightful perks.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Publication of Beard's blog entries. Like a collection of short stories, some of the things she wrote were excellent, some things I agreed with and other things I found a little dull or didn't like what she said.

[abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5*
dnf @ pg. 99

i was going to push through this, until i realised that if i'm genuinely interested in reading her blog posts in the future, i could just... visit her blog.

she brushes incredibly superficially over some pretty hefty topics (race and racism, sexual harassment at university, the bush presidency, class issues at oxbridge) in the same jokey tone she uses to discuss david beckham's tattoos, which really didn't sit well with me. some/most of her opinions and comments were very dated - it was so clear throughout that this had been written in 2006/7 by a [presses lips to mic] boomer, so i think this is a case of a collection of writings just aging very, very poorly.

my plan is to repress this reading experience so i can start her books on rome without feeling like a traitor.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blog turned into a book. Some interesting topics and likewise comments from blog readers.

[Emily Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes on an interesting form of representation. It was originally a blog by Cambridge Classics Professor Mary Beard, and publisher asked her to transform the blog into this book!

I think it's a brilliant idea as professor has the opportunity to pick out her several favourite blog posts and her favourite comments for each of those blog post.

I have to say the readers are quite creative and thoughtful towards the topics imposed by Prof. Beard, especially for the post where she talks about Greek missing artefacts and them being scattered around the world. Topics like this are still debatable till this day but seeking an opinion from Prof. Beard is always a good idea.

This book is fun to read and fun to discuss if you have a bunch of friends who are interested in this kind of topics. Prof Beard certainly takes on an easier mood in writing these blog posts, so some of them are quite funny to read. My personal favourites are the ones about Laughters in Ancient Rome, discussion about exam weeks (as a student I deeply feel for this topic), and some discussion between Greek and Romans (speaking of this I recommend a debate she did with Mr. Boris Johnson, I'll put the link at the end of the comment).

Generally I rate the book 5 out of 5 but to be honest, there are some posts in this book appear to be repetitive and boring.

Link to the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k448...

[Gerald Sinstadt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of blogs should be read for what it is - a very personal view of the daily round for a Cambridge professor; she enjoys some days more than others - don't we all? Never got to Cambridge myself, probably on intellectual grounds, but Prof Beard's college (Newnham) would have had other reasons for rejecting me. Still, this makes me think I missed something worth while.

I had just finished Robert Harris's Lustrum when I picked this up, thinking the work of a Classics Professor would be a logical follow-up. It worked well on that level, and the humour was an unexpected bonus.

Highly recommended

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It is politically naive for a government to underfund the state education system and to take little effective action on social justice, and then to blame 'leading universities' for not righting the wrongs they have perpetuated."

Very true, Mary Beard is a classics scholar at the University of Cambridge and her blog posts (converted into book) make for interesting and hilarious reading on academic life. Having an interest in the classics, I enjoyed reading about the role of Latin today (and in the past), race and race relations in Ancient Rome, academic schedules and of course, the famous Oxbridge interviews.

[Dolma Roder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Cambridge classics scholar Mary Beard' s blog posts. There is plenty of discussions on the misuse of Latin ( including on one of David Beckham's tattoo ) and classic mythology as well as a defence of Oxbridge snobbery. But I am particularly enjoying reading her thoughts on teaching undergrad students, her experiences are reassuringly familiar. ***************
"For centuries, dons have combined a loving over-commitment to their students with a rhetoric that deplores the ignorance of those they teach. The 'can-you-believe-that-they-have-never-heard-of-Pericles?' line is one of the most primitive and powerful of all donnish bonding rituals"

[Melora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would have given this four stars if I were English and had read it five years ago. Some of the pieces would have been better in that context. Still, there were plenty of interesting/amusing stories, and there are some times when a two page story is just what you want!

[Amir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start by saying that I'm not a bloggeratti and generally like Mary Beard. While engaging and fluid, clearly written by an intelligent person, it was somewhat loud and aggressive, and sometimes somewhat shallow, still worth a read.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable collection of short articles, ideal for the 5 minute read while you're waiting for the kettle to boil, so it's presently on my kitchen table! And It feeds my love of the classics, but with Mary Beard's writing, that's a given.

[Lisaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read and a way to read the blog off screen.

[Marfy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing and interesting. Something nice to pick up and briefly read, put down, then pick up again later.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, witty, appallingly toffee nosed and wonderfully frank. The comments are pretty good too.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A book of her blog, her topics were quite varied and as enthusiastic as she is on her programmes.

[Avril · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just a lot of fun. Exactly what I needed.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone with an interest in the classics and having worked in a university, I found this entertaining - mostly hits but some misses with the lightweight topics.

[Clodagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Beard's book "SPQR" is the number one seller on the Amazon list of books on ancient civilizations. She has two other books in the top twenty-five. Her tv shows were well watched. Her podcast is a big hit. She is the talking head on all things Roman. She is that rarest of things, a celebrity classics professor.

This 2009 book is from the early days of her notoriety. She was a Classics professor at Cambridge. She was working on her ninth or tenth book, this one on Pompei.

In April of 2006 she started a blog. This book is a collection of her blog posts and some responses up until the end of 2008. Blogging Professors were still a relatively new thing at the time.

It is full of good stuff.

She is forced to take a University training session on media training. "The main point seemed to be that you would do a better interview once you learned how to "set the agenda". Roughly translated, this means "how not to answer questions."

She argues that students should learn Latin from well written clear ancient texts. "Asking a school student to read Tacitus is a bit like asking an English learner to read "Finnegan's Wake".

She explains educational bureaucracy by telling the story of her department trying to get a coffee machine for their Common Room.

She has a piece on the controversy over whether racism existed in Ancient Greece and Rome.

She argues that calling modern cultists "pagans" is silly since the defining characteristic of paganism was sacrifice of animals, which is not much practiced these days.

She is against the dogma of constant grading. She defends the English system of one big exam at the end, although she agrees that it is getting harder and harder to get reliable graders for these says.

She includes some very good challenging comments.

I suspect that in another twenty years new readers will have no idea what 'blogs" were.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly enjoyable and extremely informative. MB is what all professors should be: honest, straightforward, determined to maintain high academic standards and more interested in pursuing truth and debunking myths than in massaging her own ego. She not only allows but encourages disagreement and open discussion
A book from blog is an interesting phenomenon, as discussed in the afterword. There has been the opportunity to correct errors, whether of grammar or fact; But even Zeus (or Hera?) nods: Mary, you cannot see Ely cathedral from the East Coast Main Line (What is Big Brother doing in Durham Cathedral? 27th July 2007). If you travel by train from Cambridge to Durham you first go on the Cross Country line from Cambridge to Peterborough to connect with the ECML. From this line you do get a splendid view of Ely - but that is not the same thing.

[Xanthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and quick collection of old blog posts from Mary Beard, who I adore. I must admit this book opens me up to having to engage with parts of Mary’s philosophy and views that I don’t agree with. To me, it feels like I’m disagreeing with my grandma. I hope family Christmas isn’t too awkward now that I gave it 3 stars.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and interesting collection.

Although I know nothing much of university life, the classics and ancient history the blogs and discussions were lively and entertaining and maybe even educational!

[Hattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and entertaining
Made me miss Cambridge

[Wayne's · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times interesting but a collection of blog posts and not much more.

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Beard este un reputat clasicist la Oxbridge (cum își numește ea însăși locul de muncă). A devenit foarte cunoscută prin filmele pe care le realizează despre lumea romană (originea Romei, viața de zi cu zi la Pompeii, comicul la romani etc.). Ani de zile a ținut un blog, găzduit de Times Literary Supplement. Cred că blogul ei, foarte căutat (50 de mii de vizitatori la fiecare postare), există și astăzi. Discută acolo, în postări foarte amuzante, viața universitară, chestiuni de educație, relația dintre „profi” și studenți, corvoada examenelor, întrebările (tradiționale la Cambridge) prin care putea fi încuiat orice student. De exemplu: „Ce purtau romanii pe sub togă?”.

Răspunsul la întrebare nu e deloc simplu. Mary Beard spune franc: „În realitate, nu cred că știm adevărul”. Toga era un veșmînt obligatoriu la întîlnirile publice, dar foarte incomod și destul de călduros (era de lână). Știm, în schimb, ce veșminte au împrumutat romanii de la gali: pelerina cu glugă („paenula”) şi un soi de pantaloni (numiți „braies”). De la greci au luat mantia, „pallium”. Acasă, romanii purtau, firește, o tunică, o cămașă, ceva mai simplu și mai ușor decît toga. Dacă ne luăm după reprezentările de pe mozaicurile de la Villa Romana del Casale (la cîțiva kilometri de așezarea siciliană Piazza Armerina), fetele participau la întrecerile atletice în niște straie destul de abreviate, foarte asemănătoare cu bikinii de astăzi. Cicero pomenește de așa-numitul „subligaculum”, extrem de util actorilor și gladiatorilor în acoperirea „părților rușinoase”. Și, probabil, util și purtătorilor de togă.

Cînd ține o conferință la o închisoare de maximă siguranță, Mary Beard observă că romanii nu au folosit detenția ca pedeapsă. Oamenii erau închiși înainte de proces ori înainte de o execuție. Dar nu pentru o perioadă mai lungă. Abia din secolul al XVIII-lea, pedeapsa cu detenția devine regula și nu excepția.

Mary Beard se referă și la cîteva mituri (stereotipuri) legate de viața romană. Orașul Roma nu fusese ridicat pe 7 coline (cum se afirmă și despre Iași), ci pe mai multe. Termenul „vomitorium” desemna un pasaj de intrare / ieșire dintr-un amfiteatru, nicidecum un loc în care participanții la ospețe se retrăgeau între felurile de mîncare pentru a „elimina” surplusul.

În fine, după cucerirea și distrugerea Cartaginei, la sfîrșitul celui de-al treilea război punic, în 146 î.e.n., soldații romani nu au arat și nu au presărat sare peste ruinele cetății. Obiceiul se întîlnea în Orient (e menționat și în Biblie), dar nu era propriu romanilor. Nici un autor latin nu-l menționează. Abia în 1930, un amator de istorie pe nume Bertrand Hallward l-a pomenit în articolul despre distrugerea Cartaginei din The Cambridge Ancient History, fără a invoca vreo sursă. În pofida acestei precizări, povestea sării cartagineze se mai spune și astăzi. (7.09.25, d).