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Keep Your Hands Off My Books: How Grove Press Championed Against Literature Censorship
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/767640e2-03fc-44e7-b20e-3fad3f83ce67/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis argues that Barney Rosset’s (1922-2012) Grove Press Inc. (founded 1947, acquired 1951) played a pivotal role in challenging and expanding First Amendment protections in the United States through strategic legal battles against literary censorship between 1959 and 1966. I draw from legal, social, and literary history to position my work within the broader historiography of censorship, free speech, and the cultural impact of literature. I engage primary sources, such as court transcripts, newspaper, and magazine articles, like The New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly, and autobiographies from key historical actors such as Rosset. I utilize these sources to examine the strategic defense employed by Grove Press and its lawyer, Charles Rembar (1915-2000), and how they laid an argumentative foundation for future obscenity trials, particularly in the 1959 New York obscenity case centered on D.H. Lawrence’s (1885-1930) Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928). I delve into how Grove Press, with its unprecedented success from the Lady Chatterley’s Lover case, paved the way for the publication of other controversial works, including Henry Miller’s (1891-1980) Tropic of Cancer and William S. Burroughs’ (1914-1997) Naked Lunch (1959), with the continued support of Rembar and another lawyer, Edward de Grazia (1927-2013). This thesis contributes to understanding how Grove Press championed obscene literature, expanded First Amendment protections, and sparked critical discussions on readers’ rights and freedom of expression
The Fool’s Errand: the Perennial Symbology of the Archetype of the Fool, and The Medium of Graphic Novels
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/5894bfb9-418c-43dd-bc39-b652ef0e8028/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis explores the enduring resonance of the "fool" archetype across literary, historical, sociological, political, and psychological dimensions. Central to numerous narratives and philosophical explorations, the fool often begins as a figure of ignorance and potential, integral to the transformative journey of the hero as posited in Joseph Campbell's Hero’s Journey. Drawing upon the analysis of figures such as Shakespeare’s characters and the symbolic tarot described by Jodorowsky, this paper elucidates how the fool’s journey mirrors the hero’s path from naïveté to self-actualization. The fool is not merely a source of comic relief but a complex symbol of change, embodying the dual capacities for both creation and disruption. Through figures like King Lear’s fool, Don Quixote, and the mythical trickster, we see variations of the fool as the natural fool, the professional fool, and the trickster, each providing insight into the dynamics of foolishness within their respective texts and contexts. Additionally, the work examines the societal and spiritual functions of fools, as seen in the professional jesters of medieval courts and the holy fools of Russian Orthodoxy, reflecting on the deeper psychological and existential implications of their roles. By embracing the archetype of the fool, societies and individuals engage with fundamental human experiences and values, navigating the balance between knowledge and folly as essential to the human condition. The exploration of the fool archetype extends into the narrative of my comic book titled "The Trials of Osvaldo," which embodies the journey of a heroic fool across various cultures. This protagonist, Osvaldo, a living vegetable, symbolizes the perennial fool. He transitions from a naive, natural fool to a fully aware individual, encapsulating the different sub-archetypes of the fool at various stages of his journey. This transformation highlights the inherent cyclical nature of foolishness and self-awareness, illustrating the inexhaustible depth of human ignorance and the continual rediscovery of innocence. The comic medium itself, often underestimated and sidelined as frivolous, parallels the fool's role in societal and artistic hierarchies. Comics, emerging as a potent narrative form, navigate through cultural landscapes much like the fool stumbles through traditional tales, bringing about unexpected insights and transformations. Despite their rapid rise in popular culture and significant impact on modern art forms, comics still face challenges in gaining scholarly and critical recognition. This parallel draws a comparison between the fool's underestimated wisdom and the transformative power of comics in narrative art. The artwork and narrative structure of "The Trials of Osvaldo" utilize the fool's journey as a metaphor for personal growth and societal commentary, reflecting on the complexities of self-awareness and the universal appeal of the fool archetype. By intertwining comic book aesthetics and Jungian archetypes, the thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the fool's role in storytelling, from ancient myths to modern media, emphasizing the archetype's enduring relevance and its profound impact on cultural narratives and individual psyche. This study not only contributes to academic discourse on archetypes but also enriches the understanding of comics as a serious art form, capable of deep psychological and cultural commentary. The journey of Osvaldo serves as a microcosm of the fool's journey, offering insights into the human condition and the cyclical nature of wisdom and folly in the continuous quest for self-discovery and societal understanding
Analyzing Political Relationships in Five of Plutarch's Lives
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/ba648c2f-94ff-4821-b425-85471ef7d5d7/thumb/128.jpgDuring Trajan’s reign in the beginning of the second century, Greek philosopher Plutarch began writing Parallel Lives, a collection of biographies that paired a Greek life with a Roman counterpart. In his Lives, Plutarch focused on revealing character rather than simply listing the subject’s accomplishments, structuring his lives as character studies rather than cradle-to-grave biographies. Plutarch also alters his portrayal of each subject’s life by emphasizing or downplaying certain events to accentuate the traits he wants the Lives to represent. As a result, these character studies were designed to convey moral lessons to the reader. Building on previous scholarship that claimed Trajan was part of Plutarch’s intended audience, such as Philip Stadter’s and Geert Roskam’s work, this thesis analyzes political relationships, primarily categorized into rivalries and alliances, in the Lives of Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey under the lens of Trajan as the intended audience and discusses what moral lessons Plutarch intended for Trajan in his portrayal of these political relationships. With Trajan as the intended audience, how do the lessons conveyed in Plutarch’s character studies of figures from the Roman Republic relate to the ruler of the Roman Empire
Planting the Seeds of Belonging: Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Horticulture with Justice-Involved Youths
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/aa99aef3-ed52-4428-bc46-40cc482598c4/thumb/128.jpgRestorative justice and therapeutic horticulture are two strength-based community interventions that show significant promise for effectively addressing the causes and effects of crime. As community interventions, such programs may particularly act on belongingness, which is necessary for human functioning and health. The present study used a mixed-methods design to investigate how the dual implementation of restorative justice and therapeutic horticulture in a juvenile justice program may promote a sense of belonging and foster resilience among youth. Two quantitative factors, belonging and confidence/responsibility, were measured by questionnaire items. The quantitative results demonstrated that youths' sense of belonging significantly predicts their perceived confidence/responsibility. Qualitative thematic analysis of written reflections by youths in the program highlighted the beneficial effects of tandem restorative justice and therapeutic horticulture interventions for justice-involved youths, particularly through fostering a sense of belongingness and cultivating a resilient future mindset
Who is Ethnicity For? A Comparative Archaeological Investigation of Ethnicity in Teotihuacan and Ostia Antica
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/22e00438-3b8c-4b27-bedf-2a10b28d0767/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis explores how archaeology investigates the concept of ethnicity through material culture. This thesis considers two case studies from two vastly different contexts, the Mesoamerican site of Teotihuacan, and the ancient Roman site of Ostia Antica, to compare the different, theories, evidence, methods, and interpretations of each site. The goal of this thesis is to offer an overview of the epistemology of ethnicity in the social sciences, as well as to ground this information using two different archaeological sites as a basis to examine how we think of ethnicity and if it possible to detect or identify the ethnicity of past peoples through archaeological methods. Chapter One considers previous conceptualization and definitions of ethnicity along with the various theoretical and methodical approaches to establish a sufficient basis for the subsequent chapters. Chapter Two considers how archaeologist have investigated ethnicity through domestic contexts and uses two examples from Teotihuacan and one example from Ostia to ground this discussion. This chapter relies on these two case studies to compare the differences in evidence, methods and interpretations. Chapter Three examines how archaeologists have investigated ethnicity though funerary contexts, and relies on one example from each site
Land and Control: or How I Learned to Burn the Map and Love the Chaos
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/485b4d1a-e101-4f92-8431-25be77fa3973/thumb/128.jpgStates use claims that they are beneficial to the environment to argue for their existence and to justify atrocities they commit. I start with an analysis of the role of environmentalism in Nazi Germany. I go on to look at how the State of Israel has used the land as a tool for settler colonialism. I conclude that ‘ecofascism’ is best understood as a heuristic for illuminating the use of land by states rather than a definitive label that only applies to some fascist states. The modes of thought and the ordering of the world that are illuminated when using ‘ecofascist’ as a lens are not exclusive to fascist states, settler-colonial states, or expansionist states. Regimes of world ordering are central to the functioning of states in general. Religious studies provides theories and methods for studying these regimes of world ordering. I look to antiauthoritarian thinkers to theorize a way out of these oppressive mindsets
Heard But Not Seen: The Life and Work of Female Composers in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Genre
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/523311e5-376d-471b-b3c3-2743958803e5/thumb/128.jpgThe most prolific film composers in the western film industry are all men. Many are aware of names such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and John Powell. However, despite their immeasurable contributions many female identifying composers are sequestered into the background. In the science fiction and fantasy film genre there has been a small but powerful pocket of female identifying composers dating back to the early 1960s who have worked on many of the industry’s most well-known films. In my thesis I will describe and analyze the careers and lives of the six female identifying composers, Delia Derbyshire, Wendy Carlos, Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Germaine Franco. By focusing on these six composers, I hope to highlight the incredible work women have contributed to film. Additionally, I hope to demonstrate how vital women are in the film industry, show the progress that has been made to create more equal work opportunities, and show how despite the incredible contributions women have made, they were and continue to face various forms of discrimination that hinders their ability to enter the same success and notoriety as their male colleagues
The Trees are Watching: An assessment of the potential of Juniperus occidentalis for dendrochemical analyses of environmental metal contamination
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/30988f39-7efa-4aa7-a7ff-a30018db6c8d/thumb/128.jpgAnalysis of the elemental composition of tree cores using ICP-MS is a powerful methodology for tracking environmental pollutants over time, and analysis of individual tree rings offers the potential to record changes in the concentration of those pollutants at the resolution of years rather than decades. This project attempted to assess the viability of Juniper occidentalis, or western Juniper, as an effective phytomonitoring species. This was attempted by a comparison between a specimen grown at a site with recent groundwater contamination, and a specimen grown in a location not suspected of having groundwater contamination. While method contamination of copper and aluminum obscured the results of this study, there is some indication that elevated levels of manganese and aluminum in groundwater are reflected within the xylem of western juniper. Anomalously low manganese concentrations raise questions about the ionomic parameters of healthy juniper and should be subject to further inquiry
How to Say “I Love You”: Language, Identity, and Generational Trauma in Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/54f5efe6-04cd-4eac-b4d4-1aca4c4d9b37/thumb/128.jpgHow to Say "I Love You" explores the role of language, identity, and generational trauma in contemporary Vietnamese American literature by examining Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. How to Say “I Love You” argues that Vuong and Bui incorporate non-traditional forms of storytelling including visual imagery and poetry to demonstrate the nonlinear nature of trauma and memory and to highlight the slipperiness of language that at times restricts communication and at other moments opens up new forms of connection. Accounts by authors who left Vietnam as children such as those by Vuong and Bui emphasize the intensity of generational trauma while also providing possible routes toward healing and hope for the future through communication, empathy, and accountability. In discussing the Vietnam War and its legacy, Vuong and Bui’s works interrogate the intersections between memory and history without discrediting or favoring one or the other. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and The Best We Could Do expand the canon of Vietnam War literature and reframe the war’s history from a Vietnamese diasporic perspective. The introduction outlines how Vietnamese people have historically been depicted in popular media such as films and comic books. The first chapter focuses on genre, language, identity, and memory in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The second chapter looks at media, language and communication, and generational trauma in The Best We Could Do. Finally, the conclusion places the two texts in the broader context of contemporary Vietnamese American literature
Hands-On Experience: A Pedagogical RISC-V Simulator
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/dcc7e118-f19d-43f4-a6e3-1f1b022be1cd/thumb/128.jpgComputer Systems is a critical field of computer science, but it can also have a rather harsh introduction for undergraduate students. Many of them go into introductory Computer Systems courses with little to no experience in lower-level programming languages, nevermind any assembly; and while one can learn well enough how a computer microprocessor functions over the first few weeks, it may take quite some time for them to grow familiar with the topic. This is especially true for trying to learn how information flows through a chip to make the execution of computer programs possible. In order to help such students gain a more intuitive understanding of CPUs as they are taught in introductory Computer Systems courses, I have developed a CPU simulator made explicitly for educational purposes. The simulator focuses on simplicity, ease-of-use, and transparency. Simple CPU simulators, such as SPIM MIPS, are already in use throughout college classrooms for this sort of purpose, but they are focused solely on displaying the results of a program, and keep the simulated CPU's state opaque. Therefore, the primary goal of my simulator is not to obtain the results of running assembly programs, but rather to cleanly display its own internal state while doing so and be easy to interact with. It gives potential users the opportunity to not only write and run their own low-level assembly code programs, but to then also watch them in action; or, if a user is interested in a particular feature of CPUs, they can see how that feature is used in a variety of different scenarios. The simulator is not meant to teach how a CPU works on its own, but rather to function as an interactive tool that can supplement existing instruction