Matt Dyce has been at the University of Winnipeg (U of W) for just over four years, and he says it’s still a little weird teaching prairie kids about the prairies, when he’s not from them himself.

The geography professor is originally from Ontario and attended and taught at the University of British Columbia before making his way to Winnipeg. Take a class with Dyce, and you’ll find yourself having discussions on the cultural significance of different landscapes, or how Vancouver locals feel about Winnipeg.

“Cultural geography applied anywhere is the study of landscape, which would be the story you see as an observer,” Dyce says. “If you’re at the Legislative building, it’s paying attention to a landscape of power or authority. How does the façade of the building convey history?”

Dyce says that 2017 hasn’t brought on any resolutions – he rarely plans more than a day in advance and didn’t know he’d be a professor, even though his nickname on the baseball diamond was Professor Dyce.

What have you learned from students?: One of the crazy things is I notice how much power people associate with my voice … I’m sarcastic, and I’ll say things like … ‘I’m not giving your assignments back. I threw them all in the garbage,’ just trying to get people to laugh and the look on people’s faces … I’ve had people start to cry.

What are your goals for 2017?: I’m not a planner, and my students will probably confirm that. I plan the next day very well but beyond that, I’m generally open to whatever life seems to want to hand me.

What is the last book you read?: The Utopia of Rules. It’s a cultural analysis of bureaucracy. And I just reread The Great Gatsby. Great book. 

Published in Volume 71, Number 15 of The Uniter (January 12, 2017)