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Reading Romans 5:12-21 in Light of Roman Imperial Domination: Understanding Paul's Apocalyptic Response
Get PDFThesis advisor: Angela K. HarkinsRomans 5:12-21 has attracted a variety of complex interpretations. It has been read (1) as a theological treatise of original sin (Augustine); (2) as a textual support for the doctrine of justification by faith alone (Luther and the Reformers); and (3) as Paul’s discourse of cosmic powers of sin and death that hold people in bondage and God’s salvific intervention to liberate human beings from cosmic powers of sin and death (contemporary “apocalyptic” school). Three major problems have arisen from reading the passage through these lenses. First, the passage is studied with lack of proper attention to the Roman imperial context in which the text was produced. Second, sin and salvation are over-spiritualized and personalized such that these concepts are rarely applied to concrete contemporary socio-political issues that affect the lives of people today. The result is not only a disjuncture between theology and ethics, but also the disconnection between the Christian kerygma and sociopolitical realities. Third, the rhetorical function of the text for its immediate audience is often underexplored. The implication is that theologians speculate on the themes of sin and salvation in Rom 5:12-21 without paying adequate attention to the concrete ideologies and behaviors that Paul was challenging nor the practices he was calling his audience to embody as a way of counteracting the systemic sins and evils.
This study offers an alternative reading of Adam-Christ antithesis in Rom 5:12-21 in light of Roman imperial domination and Paul’s apocalyptic anti-imperial discourse using two contemporary frameworks—empire and postcolonial criticism. Using these frameworks, I read the Adam-Christ antithetical discourse in Rom 5:12-21 as Paul’s critique of the realities of sin and death as embodied by the Roman imperial power. Paul engages in this critique by means of typological reflection on Adam and Christ—the two historical figures whose actions reveal two contrasting ways of being in the world that result either in death or life. Read against the background of Roman imperial domination in the first century CE, I argue that Paul’s personification of sin and death as forces of domination, enslavement, and death-dealing in Rom 5:12-21 can be understood as the way that colonized subjects, such as Paul, give coded expression to the multifaceted experiences of colonial domination, as well as the culture of death that were prevalent within the Roman Empire. In Rom 5:12-21, Paul invites his audience to embody Jesus’ obedience and justice as a way of countering the sinful praxes that he traced their root to Adam. In this way, Christ’s believers can participate in the new age that God inaugurates through the events of Christ and the divine Spirit.Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry.Discipline: Sacred Theology
Toward What: A Meandering Narrative About Commercial Fishing, a $200MM Suicide Factory, Walking in a Straight Line for Many Consecutive Days, and Class in a Precarious America
No full textThesis advisor: Carlo RotellaThis country currently finds itself in a backwards way. Since the late 1970s, our policy choices have led to a significant disparity between national economic productivity and individual workers’ pay. As GDP steadily grew between 1979 and 2020, wages remained largely stagnant and many Americans now find themselves incapable of keeping up with rising costs of living. Unlike most workers struggling in this precarious economy, college students graduating from elite universities are given the choice to embark on careers in financial and consulting sectors to achieve financial stability. That stability can only be achieved through only a handful of work-options, however, can feel restrictive to many college students, meaning this new America of limited opportunity is not felt exclusively by the working class and instead can be intuited at every class level. Over the course of one dissolute summer, I sought to better understand why many students, despite having the option to work lucrative jobs, feel pessimistic about working after graduation.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: English
Exploring Magnetic Collective Modes and 2D Heterostructures with Raman:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Kenneth BurchIn quantum materials, quantum mechanical effects survive over a wide range of temperatures and length scales, which leads to fascinating phenomena, such as charge density waves, spin liquids, and magnetism. These remarkable properties originate from a delicate balance among many interacting degrees of freedom. Even small perturbations such as temperature and doping can induce many diverse phases and colossal changes in the material's functionalities. It remains a mystery how to detect these novel phenomena without complicated fabrication and extreme conditions. This thesis contributed to this field by studying collective modes in quantum materials via inelastic light scattering. After fabricating the devices in a glovebox, we directly transfer them to the measurement platform under a high vacuum. Using Raman spectroscopy, a new quasi-particles--axial Higgs mode in charge density wave systems was discovered and further symmetry breaking accompanied with it suggests the charge density wave is unconventional. In addition to symmetry analysis breakthroughs, this thesis also provided direct evidence of the fractional nature as well as the energy and temperature limits of Kitaev interactions in quantum spin liquid candidate systems, which is the building block for topological quantum computers. Not limited to 2D Kitaev materials, the non-Fluery-Loudon single magnon scattering process was detected in a 3D Kitaev system. Other than using Raman to probe the fundamental nature, we also employed it to reveal, for the first time, a clean way to realize modulation doping in 2D materials, where the acceptor carrier density has reached 10 cm. This method can be applied to dope magnetic materials or twisted heterostructures to find new phases.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Physics
Iron and zinc isotopes reveal redox reactions associated with fluid flow in subduction zones:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Ethan BaxterThesis advisor: Mark BehnSubduction zones are areas of significant mass transfer between Earth’s crust and mantle. The dehydration of water-rich minerals such as serpentinite and lawsonite introduces water and volatiles into the subduction interface, that then travel to the mantle wedge above. The chemical composition, speciation, and redox effect of these fluids carry important implications for arc volcanism and the mobility of economically significant elements. This study uses Fe and Zn isotopic variation in eclogite-breccias from the Monviso ophiolite, combined with Sm-Nd garnet geochronology, to study the composition and redox effects of fluids that were produced during eclogite and blueschist facies metamorphism, and the timescales over which the brecciation and fluid flux events happened. Fe and Zn isotopic measurements were made on a series of four breccia matrix generations (M1-M4), generated during the progressive brecciation of the original Fe-Ti gabbros and the influx of both internally and externally derived fluids. The ∂56Fe and ∂66Zn data display a bi-modal distribution, with early matrix crystallization (M1-3) imparting progressively lighter ∂66Zn values while the ∂56Fe remains relatively unchanged. The last stage of metasomatic rind formation (M4) is associated with a decrease in both Fe and Zn isotopic values and a particularly significant shift in the Fe isotopes. This distribution suggests that early brecciation (M1-3) resulted from small-scale internal fluid flow that did not have a measurable effect on the isotopic composition and redox state of the system. By contrast, late metasomatic rind formation (M4) was facilitated by the flow of large amounts of external fluids with a strongly negative Fe and Zn isotope signature that affected the redox state of the mafic slab and may be responsible for transferring oxidized material into the mantle wedge. Dating of the M4 matrix generation yielded an age of 41.31± 0.60 Ma. A compilation of age data from Monviso suggests peak metamorphism and initial brecciation (M1 formation) likely occurred at ~45 Ma, the formation of the M4 matrix representing the end of eclogite-facies retrogression and brecciation at ~41 Ma, and final blueschist and greenschist retrogression at ~38-35Ma, yielding timescale of ~4Ma for the entire history of brecciation and fluid flux associated with the Monviso eclogite breccias.Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Paul's Table of Sacrifice in 1 Corinthians: An Intertextual Reading of 1 Corinthians 10-11
Get PDFThesis advisor: Matthew MonnigThesis advisor: Thomas StegmanEarly Christian meal making practices have received considerable attention in recent decades, especially considering recent sociological discoveries around the Greco-Roman Banquet structure in first century Mediterranean cultures. Biblical meal making, such as St. Paul's account of the Lord's Supper in 1 Cor 11:23-35, have garnered new attention considering these insights. In current scholarship, the dominant model for analyzing meal practices - such as the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians - is through the sociological model which reads Christian meals almost exclusively in conversation with this Greco-Roman banquet culture. Paul's meaning and understanding of the meal is understood through what would be intelligible within this wider first century meal making culture. Too often, Paul's Jewish background is not given propper attention in explicating his meaning of the Lord's Supper. This thesis argues that it is Paul's Jewish background and theological worldview that are the primary sites of meaning to discern his understanding of the Lord's Supper. Thus, the methodology best suited to "decode" Paul's meaning is the theory intertexuality, especially as developed by Richard Hays. Using this methodology of intertextuality, this thesis reads Paul's language in 1 Cor 10-11 through the conversation that develops from these OT echoes. What is heard, regarding the Lord's Supper, is that Paul understands it to be a cultic act of worship and sacrifice. As a cultic act, the elements of the meal - the bread and wine - are sacred in themselves and mediate the divine presence to the community. The community themselves shares in the divine presence through the meal, and thus the Lord's Supper ought to be understood as an act of cultic theosis in Paul's Corinthian Community.Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry.Discipline: Sacred Theology
What I Have Done and What I Have Failed to Do: Responsibility for Mortal Sin in the Catholic Catechetical Tradition
Get PDFThesis advisor: M. Cathleen KavenyThesis advisor: Daniel J. DalyThesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry.Discipline: Sacred Theology
Essays in Econometrics and Finance:
No full textThesis advisor: Shakeeb S.K. KhanThesis advisor: Zhijie Z.X. XiaoBinary choice models can be easily estimated (using, e.g. maximum likelihood estimation) when the distribution of the latent error is known, as in Logit or Probit. In contrast, most estimators with unknown error distribution (e.g., maximum score, maximum rank correlation, or Klein-Spady) are computationally difficult or numerically unstable, making estimation impractical with more than a few regressors. The first chapter proposes an estimator that is convex at each iteration, and so is numerically well behaved even with many regressors and large sample sizes. The proposed estimator, which is root-n consistent and asymptotically normal, is based on batch gradient descent, while using a sieve to estimate the unknown error distribution function. Simulations show that the estimator has lower mean bias and root mean squared error than Klein-Spady estimator. It also requires less time to compute. The second chapter discusses the same estimator in high dimensional setting. The estimator is consistent with rate lower than root-n when the number of regressors grows slower than the number of observations and asymptotic normal when the square of the number of regressors grows slower than the number of observations. Both theory and simulation show that higher learning rate is needed with higher number of regressors. The third chapter provides an application of the proposed estimator to bankruptcy prediction. With more than 20 regressors, the proposed estimator performs better than logistic regression in terms of Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics using firm data one year or two years prior to bankruptcy, but worse than logistic regression using firm data three years prior to bankruptcy.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics
Education on Inequality: To what extent does education inequality drive earnings inequality in Mexico
Get PDFThesis advisor: Paul CichelloAs inequality continues to grow, scholars remain conflicted on solutions to diminish the gaps in earnings. Mexico is an upper-middle income country, however it is also among the high inequality countries. This study uses data from the Mexican Intercensal Survey to analyze the relationship of the dispersion of education on the amount of earnings inequality. Regions with higher educational inequality and educational attainment tend to have higher earnings inequality. The research was expanded to explore how inequality has changed over the course of the 21st century. The results concluded that the mean educational attainment and average earnings increased as the GINI and EGINI coefficients notably decreased over the fifteen year timespan. From a policy perspective, this finding sets the tone for a bottom-up approach. While not hindering the attainment of the top, ideal policy would incentivize opportunity for bottom achievers. Furthermore, the results clearly contradicted Kuznets’ hypothesis with a U-shaped distribution between earnings and inequality. This paper explores alternative development theories as well as policy action focusing on education to reduce inequality.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Economics
TheMind–Body Problem for Thomas Aquinas and for Thomists:
No full textThesis advisor: Ronald K. TacelliAquinas’ hylomorphism faces a mind–body problem, similar to that faced by Cartesianism. This claim runs contrary to virtually all contemporary Thomism, according to which Aquinas’ view on the relation between soul and body completely sidesteps any mind–body problem, by having a conceptual frame that is non-mechanistic and non-Cartesian, and by emphasizing the oneness of the human being. Typically, these arguments for Thomas’ hylomorphism omit his view that the human soul is not only the substantial form of the body, but also an efficient cause of bodily motion. In this dissertation, I argue that the human soul’s role as efficient cause is integral to Aquinas’ philosophy of nature and his ethics, so that it should not be omitted by Thomists, and that it cannot be denied without undermining Thomism fatally. Because Thomism must treat the human soul as an efficient cause, it does face a mind–body problem, however. Aquinas, I argue, was aware that his psychology raises such a difficulty, and provides some possible solutions to it, grounded on his doctrine of instrumental causality.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Philosophy
Essays in Applied Microeconomics:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Donald CoxThis dissertation consists of three related chapters. A unifying feature throughout all is a focus on the role of regional earnings distributions, especially at the Commuting Zone level, in driving social and economic behavior. The first chapter examines the role of women's and men's expected earnings, across Commuting Zones, in driving women's and men's location choices (migration). The second chapter, a collaboration with Lia Yin, examines the roles of the upper and lower tails of the earnings distribution in driving crime rates, with a key distinction made between crimes motivated primarily by emotional gain, and those motivated by financial gain. Both chapters one and two use simple structural models, identified by Shift-Share (Bartik) instruments as instrumental variables. The third chapter delves into the history, meaning, and scope of Shift-Share instruments, develops several new variants, and tests them in an application to measuring effects of earnings inequality single parenting rates. The first chapter, "How Women and Men Choose Where to Live Based on Each Other's Expected Earnings," considers how the distribution of earnings between genders may influence the distribution of the population via internal migration. Might the earnings potential of prospective spouses drive migration choices? Migrants who flock to places with high-earning prospective partners can cause sex ratios to become unbalanced. Shortages of men have been shown to increase rates of single parenting, and shortages of women to increase crime. Past attempts to answer this question have been limited to brief windows in time, and have lacked causal identification. I build a 7-decade panel of U.S. Commuting Zones from Census and American Community Survey data, computing gender-specific Shift-Share (Bartik) instruments in order to isolate exogenous variation in women's and men's expected earnings. I find that both women and men place at least twice as much priority weight on men's expected earnings as they do on women's, indicating a gender asymmetry in preferences. This asymmetry slightly erodes over time from 1970 to 2019, consistent with a shift in norms. Because women and men prioritize men's earnings over women's by about the same amount, gender differences in earnings play little role in driving sex ratio imbalance. However, women place more weight than men do on the sum of women's and men's earnings, so that the ratio of women to men increases by about 1% per 10% increase in earnings. More balanced sex ratios may follow from policies that reduce overall (gender neutral) inequality, such as between urban and rural areas. The second chapter, "The Distinct Roles of Poverty and Higher Earnings in Motivating Crime," considers how the two extremes of the earnings distribution bear upon people's propensity to turn to crime. Does inequality lead to more crime? We develop a new model that articulates how Poverty (the lower tail of the earnings distribution) and Earnings (the upper tail) enter into equilibrium crime rates. In our model, individuals in Poverty have less to lose in the context of criminal punishment, so are less averse to committing crimes in general. The presence of high Earnings (therefore things worth stealing) heightens the expected gain to offenders per crime - but specifically in terms of financial gain, not emotional gain. We estimate our model on a comprehensive panel of U.S. Commuting Zones (1980-2016), deploying novel Shift-Share instruments to correct for reverse causality (of crime on the earnings distribution). Corroborating our hypothesis, we find that high Earnings plays a much larger role in driving crimes that yield financial gain to the offender (various forms of theft) than it does for crimes of emotional gain; while Poverty is a driving force equally across both types of crime. In each case, not accounting for reverse causality would underestimate both effects, often by more than double. The third and final chapter, "Novel Shift-Share Instruments and Their Applications," digs deeper into the topic of Shift-Share (Bartik) instruments, which are vital in both of the earlier chapters. Shift-Share instruments are among the most important tools for causal identification in economics. In this paper, I crystallize main ideas underlying Shift-Share instruments - their core structure, distinctive claim to validity as instruments, history, uses, and wealth of varieties. I argue that the essence of the Shift-Share approach is to decompose the endogenous explanatory variable into an accounting identity with multiple components; preserve that which is most exogenous in the accounting identity, and neutralize that which is most endogenous. Following this framework, I show clearly how several variants in the literature are related. I then develop formulas for several new variants. Particularly, I show how to develop Shift-Share instruments for distribution summaries beyond the mean - the variance, skew, absolute deviation around a central point, and Gini coefficient. As an empirical application that highlights the themes of the paper, I measure the effect of earnings inequality on rates of single parenting in the U.S., comparing results using each of various alternative instruments for the Gini coefficient.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics