Gwen Torges
When Gwen Torges was an undergrad, going after a master’s degree and teaching at the college level seemed like pursuits for someone else. But then she tried them both, and her life changed direction. Learn more about her in this week’s Meet Our Faculty feature.
What is it about the political science field that initially drew you in—and ultimately keeps you interested?
Finding political science was something of a happy accident. My undergraduate degree was in journalism, and I’d never thought about either political science or graduate school.
A semester or so before graduating, a friend of mine asked if I was going to grad school, and I said no, that was for smart people. His answer surprised me: “Grad school’s not for smart people. It’s for people with patience who enjoy school.”
I asked what program he thought would be good for me, and he suggested political science, because he knew that I was interested in news about government and public policy and that I liked to help people. So I applied, and much to my amazement, I was accepted and given a research assistantship. I figured a graduate degree in political science might help me get a job as director of a homeless shelter or something similar. Teaching hadn’t even crossed my mind.
I was asked to teach a course on a tribal reservation a couple of hours from campus that none of the faculty or grad students were willing to teach. I drove off to teach my first class filled with fear and certain that I’d be a disaster as an instructor, and before the first class was finished, I decided I’d like to teach at a university.
What keeps me interested in constitutional law is learning about complicated cases where there are no obvious right answers, and there is tension between two different rights. There’s nothing better than grappling with complex law and theory and trying to apply that to real-world situations.
Why do you enjoy teaching in this discipline?
For me, the most rewarding aspect is helping students realize they can grasp complex ideas and use analytical frameworks to make sense of a messy world.
Many times, students will come to my office worried if they are doing an assignment correctly. It’s a privilege to tell them that they’ve correctly analyzed a situation and that their instincts about appropriate next steps for research are spot on. It’s rewarding to assist students in mastering skills and building their confidence.
I also take satisfaction in helping students consider public policy in analytical rather than partisan ways.
What advice would you give students about how to succeed in college?
There are a lot of people much more qualified to answer this than I am, such as the talented folks at the Academic Success Center. But you should seek advice from more than one source, and don’t despair if one person’s guidance for success doesn’t work for you. We all learn differently, and it’s OK if it takes you some time to find techniques and practices that work for you.
Be gentle with yourself and become comfortable with making mistakes. The true periods of growth in my life were the result of failure.
Try not to be confused or distracted by how other people define success. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for progress. Ironically, my best work comes when I’ve given myself permission not to be perfect. And it’s OK not to be sure about what you want to do. I never really trusted the people who woke up at 18 and said they knew exactly what they wanted to do. The most interesting people I’ve met were the people who struggled to find their way.
One more thing I’d suggest: practice treating everyone who crosses your path with kindness and assume that every person is doing the best that they can. We can all have a positive, even profound, impact on the world with small kindnesses. If you’re doing your best, treating others with kindness and reaching out for help when you need it, the rest will fall into place.
Tell us something most of your students may not know about you.
I love all manner of fiber art—everything from knitting and weaving to dying and spinning my own yarn.
I also adore karaoke, as well as singing when I’m cleaning the house. I have no musical talent (I’ve been told this many times by both friends and strangers), but I don’t let that stop me, because singing is such a joyful thing for me.