Long-time English instructor was known for his energetic teaching style, political wit

Emeritus Associate Professor of English David Eggenschwiler, who served for more than 40 years at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, died on June 17 in Pasadena, California, following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease that eventually robbed him of the words that so enriched his life. He was 83.

Born in Canton, Ohio, to a secretary and a machinist at the Ford Motor Company, Eggenschwiler grew up in the small city 60 miles south of Cleveland, serving as his high school’s student body president. Ford awarded him a full scholarship to Harvard University, where he majored in psychology. He then earned an M.A. in English literature from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. in English literature from Stanford University.

After a brief tenure at the University of Minnesota, he joined USC Dornsife in 1966 and taught there until 2008.

He met his future wife, Jane Gould, at USC, and they married in 1985.

Eggenschwiler served as director of undergraduate studies of the Department of English. He was devoted to his students, and in his role as student advisor, was a strong mentor.

“He graced his classroom with such brio that he was fondly dubbed Excited Eggenschwiler (and the Eggman) by admiring students,” wrote his friend Tom Wolfe, a former colleague at USC Dornsife’s Department of English.

Eggenschwiler’s enthusiasm was contagious, and many of his colleagues and students fondly remember his nimble discussions in classes and hallways.

“David had a passion for teaching that is always the mark of our best professors,” says Thomas Gustafson, associate professor of English and American studies and ethnicity. 

“What made that passion so fun for me is the way he would animate it. You’d ask David a question about a book or a class he had just taught, and he would put his whole body — and soul — into the answer, his eyes lighting up, his arms gesticulating, and his entire mind winding up and delivering the explanation like [baseball player] Luis Tiant pitching.”

His talent, dedication, energy, and enthusiasm brought enrichment and delight to his colleagues and students, and he was recognized with awards for teaching excellence, including the Albert S. Raubenheimer Outstanding Faculty Award in 1986.

The award-winning author and National Book Award finalist Susan Straight graduated from USC Dornsife with a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism in 1982 before publishing 10 novels. Eggenschwiler was her first English professor when she arrived at USC Dornsife in 1978 as a 17-year-old freshman from a working-class background. She went on to take two more classes with him and still remembers him vividly.

“I asked him about his name — it was Swiss, and I told him that my mother was Swiss, and his laughter was all I needed to know: He was a kindred spirit. We loved books, and that was going to be life,” says Straight, Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

“He taught me to read poetry for the images and beautiful cadences of line break and rhythm, and reading poetry remains a constant inspiration for me as I write my novels and memoir. He was patient with all those who were mildly afraid of literature, and his passion was elegant and kind. I’ll never forget his face, and his generosity.”

English Department Chair David St. John, University Professor and professor of English and comparative literature, notes that Eggenschwiler “was not only a beloved teacher but also a brilliant thinker who became a life-long friend to many of his colleagues.”

Gustafson agrees, recalling Eggenschwiler’s generosity of spirit when he first joined USC Dornsife’s Department of English and Eggenschwiler was serving as director of undergraduate studies.

“His shared curiosity and collegiality made my first years in the department a special joy and beautiful welcome,” says Gustafson. 

A scholar of the Romantic through Modern periods, Eggenschwiler published numerous articles on topics ranging from the poetry of William Wordsworth to the fiction of Vladimir Nabokov — the latter being a particular favorite.

His book, The Christian Humanism of Flannery O’Connor (Wayne State University Press) was published in 1972.

“Dave loved words,” Gould said. “He’d laugh in delight over a captivating phrase in a book he was teaching, and he was precise and insightful when he wrote, whether it was a scholarly article or a note to a friend.”

He put this talent to good use. Described as a keen and witty commentator on politics and culture, Eggenschwiler was rumored to be the most prolific contributor of his generation to the Los Angeles Times’ “Letters to the Editor.”

“If he saw something — anything — that sparked his interest, particularly about politics, he would write a letter to the editor. And he got a lot in,” says Gould, who remembers his many letters to the paper as “a gleeful triumph every time his wry observations got published.”

In between writing letters to the Los Angeles Times, Eggenschwiler enjoyed playing tennis, swimming and cooking, but his great love was USC Trojans football: He sported at least one item of clothing in cardinal or gold for luck on every game day.

He was also a talented potter whose work ranged from functional casseroles and platters to artistic Pueblo villages and whimsical teapots.

An enthusiastic traveler, he particularly enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere of European cities with connections to literature. He loved Paris for its literary connections to Henry James and exploring Dublin for its links with James Joyce. He also visited Matzendorf, Switzerland, to connect with his own family’s roots.

Following his retirement in 2003, and unable to resist the intellectual fun of the classroom, he continued to teach classes as an Emeritus Professor for the Thematic Option program from
2003 to 2008. Those classes allowed him greater freedom to experiment and he became adept at connecting literature to such topics as science and colonialism, prompting perhaps the most satisfying student responses of his career.

Gould says Eggenschwiler’s exploration of post-colonial literature soon became reflected in his cooking. “When he got interested in Indian literature, we would start eating Indian food.”

But what motivated him most of all was teaching.

“He really loved teaching at USC Dornsife,” Gould said. “He never wanted to go anywhere else. He had a good life, doing what he loved, and we’ll remember him for his wit and laughter and intellect.”

He is survived by Gould and his sons, Jonathan and Samuel Eggenschwiler.