Gottschalk brings youth to Poli Sci

Political Science Professor Marie Gottschalk is truly an Ivy-bred personality. She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, attended Princeton University's Wilson Woodrow School for her master's, and completed her doctoral studies at Yale University before joining the Penn faculty this fall. Gottschalk, who specializes in political economy, is currently teaching courses on the American presidency and the relationship between government and business. Next semester, she will teach a seminar on business, government and public policy. Gottschalk has written for magazines and newspapers including the Far Eastern Economic Review, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Chicago Tribune. She is currently expanding work on her dissertation, which addresses how American labor groups influence health policy. After arriving at Penn, Gottschalk said she was struck by how much "times have changed" since her days as an undergraduate in the Ivy League. "Students nowadays are more cognizant of their future in the changing economy, and they concentrate their efforts at obtaining a good job rather than expanding research," she said. But Gottschalk said she sees many similarities between Penn and Yale. "Both universities have a smart, motivated student body and both Universities are struggling to integrate their surrounding areas into their own environment in an effort to become good neighbors," she said. Her varied professional experiences include editing the World Policy Journal and interning with United Press International in India. But the experience that convinced her to become a professor was spending two years teaching in China. Gottschalk taught an introductory American history course and English as a second language seminar at the Xian Institute of Architecture and Engineering through Stanford University's Volunteers in Asia program. "I was really overawed by the enthusiasm exhibited by the Chinese students," she said. "They never failed to invite me to their houses, often at the risk of being taken away by the Chinese police for questioning." She said the upcoming holiday season reminds her of a particularly memorable Christmas she spent in China. "I invited all the Chinese professors at my school for dinner at my place and we spent the evening discussing Nixon's Watergate scandal," she said. She also taught the Chinese professors some Christmas carols, which they all went out in the snow to sing. Gottschalk said she has "found the Chinese people to be more open to Western ideals than they are commonly represented by the media."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.