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The Electrochemical Characterization of a Cr-bisterpyridine Dimer Complex
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/8eb29806-604f-4d48-845f-9f1dac905aa3/thumb/128.jpgThe demand for multifunctional materials is rapidly growing in emerging electronic and electrochemical applications. These technologies require materials that support high currents and exhibit tunable conductivities to impart the desired functionality. Hence, motivating the need to understand how conductivity can be maximized. Metallopolymers are a promising avenue for such materials since they have been shown to display tunable electronic and physical behaviors. However, the structural, electronic, and chemical properties are often interrelated, making it challenging to rationally optimize metallopolymers for a desired functionality like conductivity. Herein, this thesis targeted and studied the electrochemical properties of an electroactive, dimeric CrIII complex, [(bbt)(CrIII)2(Cl)6] (dimer-Cl), which could serve as a promising building block for designing and developing larger conductive materials. Initial electrochemical experiments revealed that the dimer-Cl complex was not as readily reduced/oxidized compared to the analogous [(PhTpy)(bbt)(CrIII)2]6+ (dimer) complex. Upon revisiting the electrochemical experiments of the dimer-Cl complex, new redox features were observed, indicating possible chemical decomposition or alteration (dimer-Cl’). A comparison of the redox behavior of dimer-Cl and dimer-Cl’ voltammograms suggests that the dimer-Cl complex may be chemically unstable in NMP over time, potentially leading to the formation of distinct electroactive species
Butch Blues- Solidarity, Community, and Oppression as Explored through Literary Analysis of Intersectionality
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/8999473a-6f11-416e-8df4-cc95ffeaf8dc/thumb/128.jpgThis paper seeks to answer Jack Halberstam’s query within Female Masculinity of how to create spaces in which butch lesbians can best thrive through support from members of their community, especially within the context of belonging to multiple minority groups. Both Leslie Feinberg Stone Butch Blues and Lamya H.’s Hijab Butch Blues provide personal and sensitive accounts of butch experiences throughout different time periods; the 1950s through 1970s and early twenty-first century, respectively. While Stone Butch Blues focuses on highlighting the complexities facing stone butches – butches who do not want to be touched or receive within sexual contexts – while Hijab Butch Blues centers Lamya H.’s experience of the world as a Muslim butch. The two books express the phenomenon of feeling pleasure in different ways that are no less valid or correct than other expressions of identity and pleasure. However, these preferences are often scrutinized and criticized, which leads to Jack Halberstam’s question of the conditions needed to lead people of lesbian and transgendered identity to thrive in queer spaces through community and solidarity, as well as what conditions serve the opposite purpose, whether intentionally or not. One of the significant elements in creating these conditions that both books center around is the idea of intersectionality, expressed through the format of novel in Feinberg’s case and memoir in H.’s case
A Defense of the Inferential Interpretation of the Cogito
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/e9052e53-a142-499d-82ff-6bdaf4b1bc75/thumb/128.jpgPerhaps the most famous quote in all of Western philosophy is ‘I think, therefore I am’, or in the original Latin, ‘cogito, ergo sum’, attributable to Descartes in many of his philosophical writings. The literature concerning this phrase – which philosophers frequently refer to simply as “the cogito” – and Descartes’s related discussions is enormous. Despite the fame and philosophical importance of Descartes’s dictum, there are many fundamental questions about it which are still in need of good answers. One such question concerns whether Descartes believed that the cogito, or the piece of reasoning that culminates in certainty of one’s own existence, was an inference. In what follows, I argue that it is an inference. In the introduction I clarify the question at hand and briefly outline the most popular interpretations of the cogito. In the first chapter, I discuss the inferential interpretation of the cogito, list the essential features of the view, and consider the most pressing objections. In the second chapter I turn to the performative interpretation, the most popular alternative to the inferential interpretation. I argue that the performative interpretation cannot be squared with various textual evidence in Descartes’s works I conclude that given the wealth of textual evidence in favor of the inferential interpretation and the various failures of the most popular alternative, that the cogito is, in fact, an inference
“I Give You My Word, A Permanent Impermanence”: Promises for an Unreliable World in Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed and Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/4e251d87-3ced-4ba1-aa10-d93d1bec8e50/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis examines alternative world-disclosing storytelling practices in two books: The Dispossessed (1974) by Ursula Le Guin and Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being (2013). These stories offer alternatives to realist literature or non- fiction as ways to narrate our past, present, and future, problematizing a widespread cultural sentiment of impending doom (responding to the continuing threats of colonialism, capitalism, and environmental destruction). I identify Le Guin and Ozeki’s rejection of doomerist mentalities with their engagement in the realm of the more-than real. Investigating Le Guin and Ozeki’s respective use of famous theoretical science experiments (theoretical physics and Schrödinger’s cat), they both find that at its building blocks, reality is neither entirely fluid nor entirely solid. Instead, Ozeki and Le Guin affirm temporalities and spatialities of impermanence, where neither past nor future are predetermined or undetermined. Accepting that stability is not an option, Le Guin and Ozeki tell stories which reject western narratives of bounded individualism for the possibility of living well in thick kinships. In my first chapter, I focus on Le Guin’s use of time, promises, and romantic love in The Dispossessed to propose a community-reinforcing ontology of interdependence and intersubjectivity. In my chapter on A Tale for the Time Being, I focus on how Ozeki upends the bildungsroman to recenter community and culture in a girl’s narration of her disrupted coming-of-age. Ozeki and Le Guin engage in the life saving work of imaging beyond realism and permanence, offering alternative ontologies necessary for radical repair
Through Time and Space: Tracing the Celtic Otherworld Motif
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/ed40afdc-ddb7-426e-83c6-674626c6849c/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis will trace the literary evolution of the Celtic Otherworld motif through the centuries, examining the early Irish texts Echtrae Chonlai (“The Adventure of Connla”) and Immram Brain (“The Voyage of Bran”), the Middle English lay Sir Orfeo, and the 1924 fantasy novel The King of Elfland’s Daughter. I will draw on Aisling Byrne’s tertiary world theory to demonstrate the consistency of the Otherworld’s structural role in each text across time and space. I will also prove that the Otherworld functions differently in different cultural contexts, such as shifting religious and political norms, as well as having functions specific to each individual text (with some overlap). This thesis as a whole will demonstrate the relevance and significance of the Otherworld in these early texts and in modern fantasy literature, tracing its function through time
Playing Privileged: Examining Subversive Casting as a Tool for Marking White Patriarchy in Matt & Ben
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/c86e04b2-b805-4e60-982c-d216a8cc2fe6/thumb/128.jpgIn this thesis, I argue that subversive casting is a necessary and effective tool for investigating, marking, and critiquing hegemonic identities and structures, using Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers’ Matt & Ben as a practical example. Centuries of white patriarchal hegemony in America have normalized viewing whiteness and maleness, specifically cisgender maleness, as unmarked defaults — and the theatre industry is in no way exempt. The widespread prevalence of traditional casting, which minimizes distance between the performer’s identity and that of their role, has upheld the overrepresentation of white male actors onstage. In response to this issue, theatre scholars and artists have sought new forms of casting that remedy the lack of diversity in the field. I propose a new term, subversive casting, to investigate and advocate for instances wherein casting a gender or racial minority in a majority role might enhance a production while creating more opportunities for marginalized actors. Using a dichotomy between work and play as a guiding framework, I directed a production of Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers’ Matt & Ben with a subversive cast. In doing so, I prove the value and efficacy not just of subversive casting, but of comedy and emancipatory humor as tools for encouraging critical reflection of privilege and identity among audience members
Contortion: A Collection of Short Fiction
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/d62c0830-9a19-49cb-898c-909362749885/thumb/128.jp
Bit by Bit: Implementing the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/2fd12790-b27f-4600-8b16-b913d1c6079a/thumb/128.jpgBitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol that provides a number of advantages over traditional direct downloading. My thesis provides a specification-compliant implementation of the protocol, as well as a fully detailed description of the protocol
Does Knowledge of Linguistic Diversity Shape Beliefs about the Link between Language and Reality?
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/d957963f-ce90-4362-9205-da7dc0ae75f1/thumb/128.jpgThe semantic systems of different languages differ in many ways. This thesis examines the impact of knowledge of such linguistic diversity on people’s beliefs about the link between language and reality. One way to examine this question is to assess whether linguistic differences influence the cognitive processes of speakers of different languages. This is a hotly debated topic in cognitive science without a clear consensus. Across two studies, I took a different approach to examining the relationship between knowledge of linguistic diversity and belief in the language-reality link. In Study 1, I examined monolinguals and multilinguals’ performance on two measures: (a) interpretations of semantic differences between languages and (b) explicit endorsement of the language-reality link. Multilinguals scored higher than monolinguals on the latter measure, but there was no difference between groups on the former measure. In exploratory analyses, I found an effect of task order such that monolinguals endorsed the language-reality link more strongly after completing the semantic difference interpretation measure than before completing it. This suggests that knowledge of linguistic diversity may strengthen belief in the language-reality link. To test this possibility more directly, Study 2 manipulated the way semantic differences were presented to monolinguals and then assessed their endorsement of the language-reality link. Although endorsement did not differ significantly across conditions, there was a trend in line with the results of Study 1: monolinguals tended to endorse the language-reality link more strongly after judging how different the semantic systems of different languages were than after judging how similar they were or after no exposure to semantic differences. Altogether, my results suggest that people who possess knowledge of linguistic diversity perceive semantic differences between languages as providing complementary snapshots of the same reality
Topological K-Theory and the K-Theory of Finite Fields
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/63844d3d-0463-4e9a-8808-de993bca43d1/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis provides a general introduction to topological K-theory. This includes describing the group completion of an abelian monoid and vector bundles over a topological space. We describe the rings K(X) and eK(X) for compact Hausdorff X and show that K(X) ∼= eK(X) ⊕ Z. The external product and reduced external prod- uct are defined and the rings eK(Sn) are computed. The Adams operations are defined and their behavior with respect to the reduced external product is proven. Detailed proofs are given of the homotopy invariance theorem and that the cannonical bundles over the Grassmannians are universal. This results in a proof that eK(X) ∼= [X, BU ] for compact Hausdorff X, where BU is the direct limit of the infinite Grassmannians. The second and third chapters are devoted to building the definition of the algebraic K-theory of a ring. This culminates in a sketch of the calculation of the K-theory of finite fields, avoiding the homological aspects of the proof