College of the Liberal Arts Electronic Magazine, Issue 2

Issue 2, 10/12/01

Contents:

A Different Kind of October-Fest

Trivia

Alumni Homecoming Tailgate

Scott Weisshaar

Sociologists' Research

Baseball and the American Dream

9-11-01: The Last Thirty Days in Liberal Arts

   In the aftermath of the tragedies in Washington D.C. and New York, faculty, alumni, and students in Liberal Arts—like so many across the nation—spent their first few shocked hours looking for solace, answers, culprits, and support. While the character of those searches varied a great deal, the common denominator was a familiar one for Liberal Arts: the people of the College pooled expertise and experience to consider the broad issues, actions, and ideas on the minds of everyone over the last month.
    On campus, students lined up at blood banks, wrote to the opinion pages, collected money and items for relief, and held vigils. Faculty sought ways to both acknowledge and address the events of September 11 and the political dilemmas that followed. One ad hoc Web site sprang up within days, with suggestions and leads sent in from professors in comparative literature, English, philosophy, language units, and economics. It included links to international news coverage and dissenting opinions from such notables as Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore, as well as links to the American Red Cross, New York Times slide coverage, and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
    Faculty and staff in the College received a number of e-mails from survivors of the attacks, as well as those with some perspective to offer. Some of our faculty, in the last month, mulled over their teaching, their roles in the community, and wrote their opinions to be shared with their communities, both in the Centre Region and in the national media. Many faculty considered the ways they could help their students, either through teaching or participation on panels and committees to address questions.
    To give one example, Timothy Gianotti, assistant professor of religious studies and history, said during a talk with alumni at the University Park campus, “I went to my world religions class on September 11, and abandoned all previous lesson plans. We immediately went in to a discussion of whether violence is part and parcel of Muslim culture, or whether terrorism is a behavior sometimes given theological justification by certain radicals.”
    Given his considerable expertise in Islam, Gianotti helped students gather information about the moderate majority of Muslims. Thus, when students left that day, Giannotti offered one piece of perspective: “In your circles of family and friends, you now probably know more about the Islamic religious tradition than anyone else you will talk to in the following days. Each one of you now is in the role of educator, not to defend Islam or to defend the criminals who did this, but to try to keep the conversations sane, humane, and in some sense of perspective.”
    Greg Roeber, professor and head of the Department of History, was leading an alumni tour of Germany’s Rhineland when the news broke. While the tour continued, the participants marveled at the displays of support for Americans that they encountered in the small towns in which they embarked. In one memorable case, a parade of German firefighters and police officers marched by torchlight, carrying American and German flags and wearing mourning bands.
    Ann Miller, '58 arts and letters, recalls the scene: “Out walking in Cochem, a lovely old town on the Mosel River, we strolled into the town square. At the same time, a police car pulled into the square. We stopped and watched as firemen, dressed in their full equipment and carrying candles, paraded through the square. There must have been groups from companies all over the area. We started applauding them. It was very touching.”
    Two weekends after the attacks, the College’s development council met on the University Park campus. The group of volunteers normally convenes to discuss ways to help the College of the Liberal Arts do its part to raise $50 million during the University’s current Grand Destiny campaign. However, their Sunday morning itinerary changed so that they could meet with leading faculty in political science, religious studies, and economics to discuss the aftermath of the events.
    Given that the members of the council are leaders in industry, investing, philanthropy, information technology, medicine, and more, their meeting with experts was essentially a gathering of authorities in business, culture, and academe to discuss the most pressing issue of the day. As council chair Arnold Hoffman, '57 journalism, remarked, “When I went to school, Liberal Arts really meant history, and maybe economics at a very basic level, and things quite mundane. But this is very exciting, getting involved in all the specifics of what is happening, and this aspect of globalization, and I was very glad to participate in such a meaningful conversation.”
    As happened in many colleges, Liberal Arts faculty were also asked to lend their expertise to the media and other organizations during the crisis. In one memorable and anonymous case, our School of Languages and Literatures was consulted regarding translation of the writings left behind by one of the attackers.
    Finally, given the events of the last few days, Dean Welch says, “We need to stay in touch with the Liberal Arts family and focus on why education and the liberal arts core of our great University are even more important in the challenging days, weeks, and months that lay ahead.”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF OCTOBER-FEST

    For a German department, there is probably no more fitting month than October for celebration. This year, the College’s Department of German celebrates one hundred years of life at Penn State. From October 18 through October 20, the department will host noted writers, dignitaries, musicians, and scholars—including such notables as the novelist and essayist Ursula Hegi; alumnus Charles Bierbauer, Senior Washington Correspondent with CNN; and Roger Cohen, Berlin Correspondent for the New York Times—during their centennial conference, German American Crosscurrents at Penn State. Two photo exhibits will run concurrently and through the end of October in Zoller Gallery: "The New Berlin" and "Genres of German Architecture" will highlight Germany before and after the 1990 Unification.
    Founded in 1901, Penn State’s German department is one of the oldest programs in German in the United States. Among its resources are the Max Kade Research Institute, which focuses on German-American relations in a region of the country where German heritage and culture are still prevalent today and where Pennsylvania German is still spoken natively. The Institute’s mission is supported, in part, by the Allison Shelley component of the Rare Books Room, one of the best collections of German literature in translation in the United States.
    Several of the centennial events are open to the public. Check the conference Web site for schedule updates and locations.

DO YOU KNOW?

    In our last issue, we asked readers to identify the sole woman’s name carved on Sparks Building. While we received a number of interesting guesses, including Emily Dickinson, Mary Shelley, and Susan B. Anthony, the correct answer was Mary Lyon, educator, activist, and founder of Mount Holyoke College. That answer was first submitted by Kristen Beam, who will receive a prize.
    However, the story does not end there. As many readers pointed out, the name Curie is also on the Sparks Building. Unlike many of the other names, however, Curie is given by itself, with no first name. Pierre and Marie Curie jointly were awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. Marie went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 and, even though controversy arose afterward, by the time Sparks Building was constructed—in the early 1940s— Marie’s reputation was sterling.
    Thus, it cannot be assumed that “Curie” on Sparks Building is intended to mean either Pierre or Marie. A 1944 Centre Daily Times article listed the names on the building, with a brief description of why each name had earned its place. For Curie, it simply says, “French scientist, discoverer of radium.” Another list compiled by the fall 1986 pledge class of Parmi Nous also lists just the surname. No other information exists in the University Archives to clarify the situation further.
    The ambiguity persists in other historical accounts. On the Nobel Web site, the idea to investigate uranium and thorium (the idea which initiated the trail to discovering radium) is credited to Marie Curie, with Pierre helping only later. However, in her address at Vassar, first printed in 1922 at Vassar and re-examined in the current issue of The Kenyon Review, Marie Curie herself states plainly that she and “Professor Curie” discovered radium through collaborative work.
    Thus, due to the ambiguity, we will also send a prize to Stephanie Shields, who was the first to mention both Lyon and Curie in her response. Thanks to everyone for participating. Now, the question for this issue:
   How many Presidents of Penn State were first deans of the College of the Liberal Arts?

ALUMNI HOMECOMING TAILGATE NOVEMBER 3

    Want to enjoy a great tailgate without the hassles—and expense—of getting it together yourself? The Liberal Arts alumni society will hold its third annual tailgate before the homecoming football game November 3. Open to Liberal Arts alumni, their families, and friends, the party will be held on the Founder’s Room Terrace, just east of the Bryce Jordan Center, three hours prior to kickoff.
    Hosted by the alumni society board and Dean Susan Welch, the tailgate is an easily accessible, family-friendly way for alumni to visit, enjoy some great food, play Penn State trivia, and sign up for give-aways and door prizes.

WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE IN THE MASTHEAD?

    Many probably recognize Dean Susan Welch, former journalist and entrepreneur Ruth Manton, and Associate Dean Ron Filippelli . There is one person, however, whose face may not yet be familiar—recent College of Liberal Arts graduate Scott Weishaar.
    It will probably only be a matter of time before Weishaar becomes more widely recognized. As the recipient of the Theodore and Dorothy E. Kerry Memorial Scholarship, he was featured on the inside page of the May/June 2000 edition of The Penn Stater. The following year, Scott was awarded the Lois-Jean Ruth Endowed Scholarship in the College of the Liberal Arts. Soon after he graduated with a bachelor of science in economics, he was offered a consultant position with Bates, White and Ballentine, a prestigious economics consulting firm in Washington D.C. Now, he spends his time assisting the firm in litigation support for large antitrust cases. When asked for the secret of his success, Weishaar cites his work with the Economics Department professors at Penn State and “Networking, networking, networking.” Weishaar’s work in D.C. has led him to reflect on his time at Penn State in the College of the Liberal Arts. “I realize now that what we call ‘Penn State’ is really a network of devoted people, proud of their university and constantly ready to unite for its cause. Nothing can sum up my sentiments more than the feeling I got when Adam Taliaferro walked and then jogged out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel.”
    Based on past successes, it is very possible that Weishaar’s future promises to be just as bright.

SOCIOLOGISTS' FINDINGS AFFECT ALL OF US

    Recent research done by the Penn State Department of Sociology has unearthed startling new perspectives on family development, both worrisome and hopeful.
    One project indicates that the math and science achievement gap between American children of single-parent homes and children of two-parent homes is lower in the U.S. than that in other industrialized nations. The cause? Studies show that this disparity coincides with the lack of family and welfare programs available in the U.S.
    In Iceland, the Netherlands, and Australia, countries with more generous public resources supporting families, the math and science achievement gap between children from single-parent homes is lower. Additionally, the poverty level and rate of teenage pregnancy are significantly lower in these areas than in the United States.
    Dr. Suet-ling Pong, associate professor of education, sociology and social demography, believes there is a definitive correlation between these differences. “The U.S. has the least generous welfare systems, and hardly any national family policies, yet its teenage fertility rates are high, and single-parent families are more prevalent than in any other country we’ve studied.” She adds, “The U.S. also ranks first in terms of poverty levels.
    In better news, sociology doctoral student, Juliana McGene has discovered a different way to look at marriage. According to McGene, research findings suggest that, “the most influential factors affecting marital satisfaction are weekly hours of employment, the number of children living at home, religious attendance, and perceptions of fairness about the division of labor and money…The combined effect of these elements counts for more than the relationship history, including the number of divorces or cohabitating relationships.”
    For more on these stories, go here

BASEBALL AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

The smell of roasted peanuts, the national anthem, the seventh inning stretch, a stadium standing together to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” No other American sport has such specific traditions. However, in an eclectic collection of essays, Baseball and the American Dream: Race, Class, Gender, and the National Pastime, Robert Elias examines the less nostalgic side of one of America’s favorite games.
    Robert Elias, '74 MA political science, '81 Ph.D. political science, a professor at the University of San Francisco who was once himself courted by the Giants, Braves, and Orioles, finds a link between baseball and how we might reconsider the American dream. This collection illustrates his belief that “the national pastime is not merely a diversion, but rather a long-standing reflection of the strengths and weakness of American life.” Many Americans still believe in the Horatio Alger myth, the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” road to success. Elias suggests that the game of baseball can be used to explore “key American issues—politics and nationalism, labor-management conflicts, class and economic inequalities, religion and spirituality, expansion and foreign affairs, race, ethnic and gender relations and much more.”
    Written by sociologists, mathematicians, sportswriters and journalists, the book is divided into three parts. The sections explore ethnicity in baseball, the mechanisms of social class, and how women have contributed to the baseball legend. Together, these lucid pieces offer a unexpected perspective on the game and how it helps to more clearly define the American dream.
    Joan Ryan, in her essay “The Tune Plays the Same,” captures her love of the sport despite its sometimes troubling history: “There is something unchangeable about baseball, something that survives generations no matter how loud the music and how business-oriented the players and owners. I feel at the ballpark the way other people say they feel on the golf course, which is to say, unburdened.”