Thomas Davis has only been an English professor at Ohio State for close to two years, but he is settling into Columbus and building strong relationships with students through his powerful desire to teach.

Davis taught a special topics course on modern war zones, and it is his favorite experience at OSU so far, he said. The course focused on war in colonies, on the front, in war camps and in cities.

He taught the subject through various mediums. Students read Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and James Joyce’s “Dubliners” and they examined early war photography and Picasso’s “Guernica.”

Discussions provided depth. One student was a veteran of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I don’t want to always lead; that’s not the point,” Davis said.

The subject permeates many of Davis’ classes because he is writing a book that will examine the art of politics and war.

In a course on 20th century British literature, Davis chose to discuss Conrad’s “The Secret Agent.”

“We talked about this book being the quintessential 9/11 book to understand the mind of a terrorist,” said Jeremy Bagot, who took the course last year.

Bagot did a group project on the influx of African culture into British society after reading “The Lonely Londoners” by Samuel Selvon for the class.

Davis chose the book to reflect the diversity in Britain, something he said is often overlooked.

“I don’t want it to be just old, dead white men,” Davis said.

Learning and teaching are obviously essential in Davis’ life. He presents every subject he brings up as a potential course topic.

“He is insanely intelligent and eloquent, but not to the point where he uses 25 different big words to show how smart he is,” Bagot said. “He’s cool, and you can sit down and have a conversation for 20 minutes having nothing to do with the class you’re in and you’re both teaching each other.”

Davis’ office is as inviting as his personality. Students are beckoned by a plush, white, one-seat love seat. The window is slightly open, letting a steady stream of cool air into the room. The computer faintly plays music from his favorite bands such as The Smiths or The Twilight Sad.

The left wall is lined with a massive bookcase. Davis is quick to pull books from it as he references them in an attempt to share his knowledge.

His books are littered with underlined passages.

Education is in his blood. Davis’ grandfather Ernest Lowry had a meager formal education, but his love for literature and ideas had him reading constantly.

Davis did not always appreciate his grandfather’s intelligence.

“As a kid it was annoying,” Davis said. “‘Will you make me a sword?’ He’d make it and tell me about the history of swords, and all I wanted was to bang it against a tree.”

Davis’ mother never finished college and his father never attended, but they always encouraged their son to read.

Davis slowly indulged in his insatiable desire to learn but found time for a punk band and several short-lived, part-time jobs, including one selling shirts and $800 ceramic dog sculptures.

He studied abroad in Ireland in college and encourages other students to do the same.

Traveling triggered Davis’ self-proclaimed wanderlust. His interest in Eastern Europe landed him in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Sept. 11 attacks.

There were still bullet holes in the sidewalks and buildings from the two world wars there, so the people sympathized with Americans that day.

Davis and his friend went to a bar and the bartender gave them free beer and food all day.

He did not want to return home immediately, so Davis traveled to Prague, where he almost took a job working in a bookstore. Had he taken it, Davis says he might never have come back to the United States.

However, he is glad he did. While living in Chicago, he met his fiancée Maya. The two live in Columbus.

Getting the job at OSU was exciting for Davis because it was his first choice, he said.

“I’m still enchanted by having the job,” Davis said. “I think it is criminal I get paid to talk about what I love.”