#57: Title IX Perceptions with Francesca Tangherlini ’22, Sociology

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Francesca smiling and standing in front of a bunch of greenery.

We’re excited to welcome Francesca back to the podcast! Francesca was our first student producer, named the podcast, and was integral as we were still figuring out what we were going to be and how we were going to do it. The voice of this podcast is largely Francesca’s voice (along with the voices of all the alumni we’ve interviewed) and it would have been something entirely different without her. Thanks Frank! (Francesca went by Frank back when she was working for the podcast.)

Francesca’s thesis examined Title IX implementations and student perceptions of these implementations at the level of the liberal arts college. Check out the episode to hear about institutional review boards, and why you should put your thesis into the library thesis template well before it’s due.

Reed community members can read Francesca’s thesis, “The Small Liberal Arts Experience: Title IX and Student Perceptions of Sexual Misconduct,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#56: Breaking Ancient DNA with David Rothfels ’23, Chemistry/Classics

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David studied archaeometry at Reed through an ad hoc major in the chemistry and classics departments (classics at Reed is now known as Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies). He was introduced to archaeometry, the application of scientific methods and technology to archaeological study, by a research mentor after his sophomore year, and then went about petitioning to form his ad hoc program at Reed (it’s not an easy process).

Reed community members can read David’s thesis, “Hoping to Smash DNA with Rocks and Pickaxes,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#55: Oregon’s Black Exclusion Laws and a Salem Church with Peri Joy Long ’23, Religion

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Peri Joy smiling and sitting on a rock wall in a flower garden.

Peri Joy planned for the work of her thesis year to center on race, religion, and the history of Oregon, and her writing focused on archives related to a 19th century congregation in Salem, Oregon led by Reverend Obed Dickinson. Dickinson’s decision to admit three formerly enslaved Black persons—Elizabeth Johnson and Robert and Polly Holmes—into his congregation marked the beginning of a six-year conflict between Dickinson, the white church members, and the broader Salem community over the issue of race.

Reed community members can read Peri’s thesis, “Bringing the Truth to Bear: Obed Dickinson and an Imagined Community of Racial Equality in Nineteenth-Century Salem, Oregon,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

You can learn more about Obed Dickinson and Oregon’s Black exclusion laws from the Oregon Historical Society’s Oregon Encyclopedia.

#54: Indigenous Modernity along the Columbia River with Sofie Larsen-Teskey ’23, Anthropology

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Sofie is sitting up against the trunk of a large redwood tree and looking into the camera with a partial smile.

Sofie gets excited about the opportunity she had to write an ethnographic thesis which explored relationships between the Indigenous peoples of the Columbia River and salmon. Sofie also talks about what it took to produce her “multi-chapter document”.

Reed community members can read Sofie’s thesis, “Salmon Pluralities: Nch’í Wána Pum, Traditional Fishing, and Indigenous Modernity,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#53: Philosophy of Science with Betsy Hoekstra ’20, Philosophy

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Betsy spent her thesis year thinking and unthinking what it’s possible to know about science, and how science can be used and mis-used in the field of psychiatry.

Reed community members can read Betsy’s thesis, “Now Doc, Hear Me Out— Epistemic Injustice in Psychiatry and a Case for Philosophy of Science as a Resource for Intervention,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#52: Post-Reconstruction Struggles of Chinese Women with LiLi Siedare ’23, History

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LiLi’s thesis focused on the struggles that Chinese women faced in the U.S. after the Civil War, and the damage done to Asian American immigrants by the Page Act of 1875.

Reed community members can read LiLi’s thesis, “‘For Lewd and Immoral Purposes’: Chinese Women in the United States and the Page Act of 1875,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#51: A Martian Immigrant with Henry Belman ’23, English

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Henry discusses finding his thesis topic in the comics character of J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, and accomplishing the rare feat of turning in a thesis a little early. Tommy Schacht ’25, our new producer for this year, interviewed Henry last May. Welcome, Tommy!

Reed community members can read Henry’s thesis, “My Favorite Martian (Manhunter): Alien Immigrants in Comics,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#50: Liminal Love with Stephanie Shu ’23, Chinese

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Photo of Stephanie with Reed College campus trees blurred in the background.

Stephanie’s thesis examines female-female love as depicted in Republican era Chinese fiction, and includes a full original translation of one of the stories she examines.

Reed community members can read Stephanie’s thesis, “Writing Love and Liminality: Female Homoeroticism in Early Republican Chinese Fiction,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#49: Speaking Gender with Montreal Benesch ’22, Linguistics

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Montreal tells us about their study on the use of a particular phonetic feature of American English by a handful of genderfluid students at Reed, and also about how they became interested in linguistics.

Reed community members can read Montreal’s thesis, “/s/tylizing the /s/elf: A First Look into the Concurrent Fluidity of Gender and Language,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.

#48: Retelling the Ramayana with Anjali Reddy ’22, English

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Anjali spoke with Albert about her year studying the epic tale of the Ramayana and related texts that examine the story through both gender and caste.

Reed community members can read Anjali’s thesis, “The Power of The Novel: Recognizing The Subaltern in The Ramayana,” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.