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BY MENGHAN JIN

In print | Published January 27, 2011

Two years ago, George Moskos, professor of French language and literature, lent Christine Stott ’09 his copy of “Racine et Shakespeare” by Stendhal. It seemed impossible to read — it was infused cover to cover with George’s thoughts scrawled on hundreds of yellow Post-its.

Now, it has become a book that Stott will forever cherish.

“I remember where I left it in my house, and I’m thinking, ‘this is a treasure.’ It is a window into his mind,” Stott said.

On January 4, George Moskos died from a very severe case of lung cancer at the age of 62. He is survived by his partner of 40 years, Blair Gannon.

“I couldn’t possibly exaggerate the impact George had on my time at Swarthmore,” Stott said. “I considered him an incredible teacher, but also a mentor and a friend.”

He will be remembered by all members of the Swarthmore community for his openness and charisma in and outside of the classroom.

George’s sharp mind and passion for the French language and literature brought him to Swarthmore in 1975. Since then, he not only served as the chair of the Modern Languages and Literatures Department for five years, but also as the head of the French section.

Since his professorship, George was greatly involved in queer and feminist issues on campus, and in 1998, he was endowed with the title of James C. Hormel Professor of Social Justice.

An enthusiast of French language and literature, George made the Swarthmore-hosted study abroad program in Grenoble, France a major part of his life at Swarthmore. He spent several semesters on and off in Grenoble with Blair, advising and guiding students along in the program.

“Over the years, he was one of the most committed people in keeping the program going,” said Professor of Theater Allen Kuharski. “George really thought it was essential and something he loved, and he was one of the people most willing, able and committed to going and being the faculty person in residence in Grenoble.”

Many students found George’s passion and teaching style moving. “When he taught a class,” Stott said, “he wasn’t just trying to transmit knowledge to his students, but also his love, his passion for the material. And it was absolutely contagious.”

Stott’s first class with George was “Introduction to French Literature,” a class that inspired her want to pursue French literature after Swarthmore.

“I think he genuinely loved the literature,” Kuharski said, “and he was happy reading and rereading that literature. And I think that’s something the students really pick up on.”

Stott is now teaching high school English in Bordeaux, France.

George was also a major influence on Carson Young ’10, who, like Stott, chose to teach in Bordeaux after graduating from Swarthmore.

A philosophy and economics major, Young was able to work closely with George during the fall of 2008 when he attended the Grenoble program. When Young was struggling in his French poetry class, George held weekly one-on-one poetry reading sessions with Young.

“He would jump around and gesticulate wildly as we read Baudelaire together, trying to get me to feel the words that we were reading,” Young said. “I’ve never had another teacher who made literature come alive for me in quite the same way.”

For George, teaching was always an incredible joy.

“He was always very happy,” Blair said. “I think he felt professionally fulfilled, because the reaction of his students to his teaching was always very positive.”

With George’s passing, Swarthmore has lost not only a most influential professor, but also a beloved colleague and devoted friend.

Carole Netter, French lecturer, started working with George 25 years ago in the French department at Swarthmore after meeting him in Grenoble. Throughout her years here, she was able to develop a close professional as well as personal relationship with George.

“He was an extremely helpful boss … and was a joy to work with. We had meetings, of course, and we’d laugh out loud all the time,” she said.

Netter visited George’s house in the borough several times in years past. She especially remembers his love for Greek salads and impeccable warmth as a host.

To Kuharski, longtime friend of George, this rings true.

“He was very warm and he was very hospitable. . . . He really created a great environment for welcoming visitors [and] people look forward to coming again,” Kuharski said.

When he first started teaching at Swarthmore in 1975, George attacked queer issues on campus unflinchingly. He joined the community during a time when homosexuality was not well received at
the college.

“When I came, it was still difficult. You would see on the sidewalks very bad comments about queer people,” Netter said.

But George worked hard to be accepted as an openly gay professional in academia and went on to become one of the first openly gay faculty members at Swarthmore to receive tenure.

In the 1990s, collaborating with Kuharski in the Sager committee, George was able to bring Sue-Ellen Case, a queer scholar, to campus as the Lang Visiting Professor of Social Change during the 1993-94 academic school year.

“It was visionary on their part and also courageous,” Case said in an e-mail. “When it was announced that I was to give the Lang lecture on a lesbian topic, Lang wrote that he would like to distance his name from this. Nonetheless, [George and Kuharski] persisted in supporting my position.”

Meeting Case in New York, George used his charisma and vivacity in persuading her to teach at Swarthmore. “George . . . [convinced] me that I would not feel isolated on the campus [and] . . . entertained me, socially, on numerous occasions, which were full of campy humor — a style not too common at Swarthmore at the time,” she said.

George’s sense of humor and vivacity translated to all areas of his life. In his French introductory class last semester, his personality made students wonder about his age; many thought he was half his actual age.

“Almost everyone I talked to in my class, when we saw that he was 62, we were shocked. He just had such a young, lively personality,” Gabbie Capone ’14 said.

Capone took George’s class as one of her first courses at Swarthmore, finding him to be one of the most engaging and enjoyable professors she has encountered so far.

“George’s class was the class I looked forward to every morning,” she said. “He was a fantastic teacher — very funny and personable.”

It was George, Capone said, that made her want to continue studying French at Swarthmore and take more of his classes. Unfortunately, George was forced to stop teaching after Thanksgiving of last year.
And though his physical well-being started deteriorating by the middle of the semester, his energy and charisma never faltered.

“It was remarkable that between being on a lot of medication and not always being conscious, when he was conscious and when he was not feeling his symptoms, his personality was completely there,” Kuharski said. “He even wanted to speak French.”

Both Kuharski and Netter can attest to George’s enduring optimism and warmth, even in his last couple weeks of life when the cancer was just getting worse.

“He was extremely elegant, welcoming anybody when he was suffering a lot,” Netter said. “It’s difficult seeing a very close friend approaching death, but as soon as you were there, it was not difficult because he was the same person, just a bit handicapped.”

When Kuharski saw George 48 hours before he passed away, George wanted to hold a conversation with him in French. Netter saw George on his last day; he was only able to smile at her.

Since George’s passing, those closest to him have come from France, Holland and Canada to give their condolences to Blair. Members of the Swarthmore community have also reached out to Blair.

I miss him very much,” Blair said. “I don’t think I’ve fully incorporated his passing yet.”

A memorial service for George has yet to be scheduled.

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