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Ruth Hubbard Wald Was Spread Upon the Permanent Records of the Faculty
At a meeting of the FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES on March 7, 2017, the following tribute to the life and service of the late Ruth Hubbard Wald was spread upon the permanent records of the Faculty. RUTH HUBBARD WALD BORN: March 3, 1924 DIED: September 1, 2016 Ruth Hubbard Wald was a superb biochemist who studied the light-sensitive molecules (visual pigments) in photoreceptors and a prominent feminist and social activist. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1924, she and her parents, physicians and leftist intellectuals, fled Austria when the Nazis arrived in 1938, came to the United States, and settled in Brookline. Ruth lived much of her life in Cambridge and died September 1, 2016, at the age of 92. Ruth attended Radcliffe College as a pre-med student and soon met her first husband, Frank Hubbard, who became a leading harpsichord maker and whom she married at age 18 in 1942; they separated in 1951. After her graduation from Radcliffe in 1944, she spent a year working as a Research Assistant with George Wald, a Professor of Biology at Harvard, who was to become her second husband in 1958; they had two children Elijah (b. 1959) and Deborah (b. 1961). In 1946, Ruth entered graduate school, joined Wald’s laboratory, and began her studies on visual pigments. Wald had previously shown that visual pigments consist of vitamin A aldehyde (now called retinal) bound to a protein called opsin. Ruth’s initial project in the laboratory, for which she was awarded her Ph.D. in 1950, was to elucidate the mechanism by which vitamin A was converted to retinal. -
Mirrorshade Women: Feminism and Cyberpunk
Mirrorshade Women: Feminism and Cyberpunk at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century Carlen Lavigne McGill University, Montréal Department of Art History and Communication Studies February 2008 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Studies © Carlen Lavigne 2008 2 Abstract This study analyzes works of cyberpunk literature written between 1981 and 2005, and positions women’s cyberpunk as part of a larger cultural discussion of feminist issues. It traces the origins of the genre, reviews critical reactions, and subsequently outlines the ways in which women’s cyberpunk altered genre conventions in order to advance specifically feminist points of view. Novels are examined within their historical contexts; their content is compared to broader trends and controversies within contemporary feminism, and their themes are revealed to be visible reflections of feminist discourse at the end of the twentieth century. The study will ultimately make a case for the treatment of feminist cyberpunk as a unique vehicle for the examination of contemporary women’s issues, and for the analysis of feminist science fiction as a complex source of political ideas. Cette étude fait l’analyse d’ouvrages de littérature cyberpunk écrits entre 1981 et 2005, et situe la littérature féminine cyberpunk dans le contexte d’une discussion culturelle plus vaste des questions féministes. Elle établit les origines du genre, analyse les réactions culturelles et, par la suite, donne un aperçu des différentes manières dont la littérature féminine cyberpunk a transformé les usages du genre afin de promouvoir en particulier le point de vue féministe. -
Feminism Without Grown-Ups: Anti- Racism and the “Matter” of Childhood
Feminism without Grown-Ups: Anti- Racism and the “Matter” of Childhood A Division III by Quin Rich Committee: Dr. Susana Loza and Dr. Kristen Luschen Spring 2016 Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to the wonderful faculty members with whom I have been fortunate enough to work in writing Feminism without Grown-Ups. I would like to thank my committee members for their indispensible support, guidance, and feedback throughout this process: Dr. Susana Loza, Dr. Kristen Luschen, and Dr. Natalie Sowell. I have known each of them since my second semester at Hampshire, and I would not be the scholar I am today without their mentorship. I would also like to thank Dr. Angela Willey for many fruitful intellectual conversations, as well as for supporting me as I pursue my feminist academic ambitions. This project would not have been possible without their support and encouragement during this difficult yet rewarding year. Thank you to my mom, Jennifer Rich, for supporting and inspiring me as I continue on my intellectual journey. I am deeply grateful to have you in my life. Rich 1 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...... 3 Chapter 1: Epistemic Irreconcilability...……………………………………………....... 8 Chapter 2: Ethical (In)competence and Epistemic Limitation……………………….. 29 Chapter 3: Feminism without Grown-Ups and the Problem of Maturity…………… 58 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………... 74 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………….... 76 Appendix A: Email from Erika Christakis……………………………………………… 81 Rich 2 Introduction Much feminist thinking deploys the concept of maturity, yet this term is far from unproblematic. Perhaps I should give an example. In response to a question about the larger political significance of her work, feminist philosopher Rosi Braidotti states that feminists can offer “the ordinary citizen” of Europe help in “addressing internal obstacles,” such as heterosexism and racial prejudice (Pető, 2014). -
Shedding New Light on the Generation of the Visual Chromophore PERSPECTIVE Krzysztof Palczewskia,B,C,1 and Philip D
PERSPECTIVE Shedding new light on the generation of the visual chromophore PERSPECTIVE Krzysztof Palczewskia,b,c,1 and Philip D. Kiserb,d Edited by Jeremy Nathans, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, and approved July 9, 2020 (received for review May 16, 2020) The visual phototransduction cascade begins with a cis–trans photoisomerization of a retinylidene chro- mophore associated with the visual pigments of rod and cone photoreceptors. Visual opsins release their all-trans-retinal chromophore following photoactivation, which necessitates the existence of pathways that produce 11-cis-retinal for continued formation of visual pigments and sustained vision. Proteins in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a cell layer adjacent to the photoreceptor outer segments, form the well- established “dark” regeneration pathway known as the classical visual cycle. This pathway is sufficient to maintain continuous rod function and support cone photoreceptors as well although its throughput has to be augmented by additional mechanism(s) to maintain pigment levels in the face of high rates of photon capture. Recent studies indicate that the classical visual cycle works together with light-dependent pro- cesses in both the RPE and neural retina to ensure adequate 11-cis-retinal production under natural illu- minances that can span ten orders of magnitude. Further elucidation of the interplay between these complementary systems is fundamental to understanding how cone-mediated vision is sustained in vivo. Here, we describe recent -
Tautomeric Forms of Metarhodopsin
Tautomeric Forms of Metarhodopsin ROWENA G. MATTHEWS, RUTH HUBBARD, PAUL K. BROWN, and GEORGE WALD From the Biological Laboratories of Harvard University, Cambridge ABSTRACT Light isomerizes the chromophore of rhodopsin, ll-cis retinal (formerly retinene), to the all-trans configuration. This introduces a succession of unstable intermediates--pre-lumirhodopsin, lumirhodopsin, metarhodopsin --in which all-trans retinal is still attached to the chromophoric site on opsin. Finally, retinal is hydrolyzed from opsin. The present experiments show that metarhodopsin exists in two tautomeric forms, metarhodopsins I and II, with ),m~ 478 and 380 m#. Metarhodopsin I appears first, then enters into equi- librium with metarhodopsin II. In this equilibrium, the proportion of meta- rhodopsin II is favored by higher temperature or pH, neutral salts, and glycerol The change from metarhodopsin I to II involves the binding of a proton by a group with pK 6.4 (imidazole?), and a large increase of entropy. Metarhodopsin II has been confused earlier with the final mixture of all-trans retinal and opsin (Xm,~ 387 m/z), which it resembles in spectrum. These two products are, however, readily distinguished experimentally. On exposure to light, rhodopsin bleaches over transient intermediates to an eventual mixture of retinaP and opsin. If one begins with cattle rhodopsin, for example, at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-195°C), the product of irradiation is pre-lumirhodopsin with km~x 543 m#. On warming above - 140°C, this goes over in the dark to lumirhodopsin (km,x 500 m/z), and above -40°C, to metarhodopsin (km,x 478 m#) (of. Yoshizawa and Wald, 1963). -
Redalyc.WHY GENDER? TOWARDS an INTEGRATED MODEL of SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION in HUMAN BEINGS
Revsita de Filosofía Open Insight ISSN: 2007-2406 [email protected] Centro de Investigación Social Avanzada México Cealey Harrison, Wendy WHY GENDER? TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN HUMAN BEINGS Revsita de Filosofía Open Insight, vol. III, núm. 4, julio, 2012, pp. 59-91 Centro de Investigación Social Avanzada Querétaro, México Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=421639452004 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative WHY GENDER? TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN HUMAN BEINGS Wendy Cealey Harrison University of Greenwich [email protected] Abstract Behind all research into Gender lies a persistent question about why it is that the social construction of sexual differ- entiation amongst human beings seems to entail an almost universal inequality and subordination. Arguably, however, that question, ‘Why?’, is misconceived. This paper argues that we should not be searching for a general answer for the existence of something that is not a single entity or set of processes, whether we are talking about ‘gender’, or ‘sex’. What we need instead is to replace that dichotomy with a model that integrates these two areas of investigation. Keywords: Contingency, Gender, Knowledge, Plasticiy, Sex. 3FDJCJEPr"DFQUBEP 0QFO*OTJHIUt7PMVNFO***t/ KVMJP tQQot*44/ 59 EL GÉNERO: ¿POR QUÉ? HACIA UN MODELO INTEGRADO DE LA DIFERENCIACIÓN SEXUAL EN LOS SERES HUMANOS Resumen Detrás de toda investigación sobre género hay una pregunta persistente: ¿por qué la construcción social de la diferencia- ción sexual en los seres humanos parece producir una au- sencia de igualdad y una subordinación prácticamente uni- versal? Se puede decir, todavía, que la pregunta “¿Por qué?” es una idea mal planteada. -
Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives on Gender
CHAPTER Theoretical Perspectives on Gender 2 OUTLINE d. Feminist Critique of Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology 1. Psychoanalytic Theory e. Feminist Evolutionary a. Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Psychology and Feminist Development Sociobiology b. Criticisms of Freud’s 6. Social Role Theory Psychoanalytic Theory 7. Feminist Theories c. Karen Horney a. Gender as Status and Power d. Helene Deutsch b. Intersectionality e. Nancy Chodorow c. Queer Theory 2. Social Learning Theory d. Gender Roles and Socializationdistribute a. Evidence for Social Learning e. External Versus Internal Theory Attributions of Problems b. Cognitive Social Learning Theory f. Consciousnessor Raising 3. Cognitive-Developmental Theory g. Diversity of Feminisms FOCUS 2.1: Feminist Reformulation of h. Summary a Theory of Moral Development i. Evaluation of Feminist Theories 4. Gender Schema Theory j. In Conclusion a. Evidence for Gender Schema Theory post,FOCUS 2.2: Feminist Theory in Psychology: Objectification Theory 5. Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology EXPERIENCE THE RESEARCH: a. Parental Investment Gender Schema Theory b. Sexual Selection 8. Chapter Summary c. Evolutionary Psychologycopy, 9. Suggestions for Further Reading nderstanding gender differences has fascinated people probably since the dawn of Uthe human species. In the past century, science has come to dominate intellectual thought. Thus,not it is not surprising that scientific understandings of gender differences have developed. In this chapter we will examine some major psychological theories that have been formulated to explain the differences between women and men and how they develop. DoAt the outset, we think it is important to highlight the distinction between theory and empirical evidence. In the pages that follow, we will describe many of the theories about the psychology of women and gender that have been proposed. -
Ruth Hubbard, Scientist and Social Activist
Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Ruth Hubbard, Scientist and Social Activist The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Barr, Dorothy. 2017. “Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Ruth Hubbard, Scientist and Social Activist.” Science & Technology Libraries 37 (1) (December 13): 63–70. doi:10.1080/0194262x.2017.1395722. Published Version 10.1080/0194262X.2017.1395722 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41017646 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, WARNING: This file should NOT have been available for downloading from Harvard University’s DASH repository.;This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/ urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Ruth Hubbard, Scientist and Social Activist Dorothy Barr Research Librarian Ernst Mayr Library – Museum of Comparative Zoology 26 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 orcid.org/0000-0002-1958-3715 [email protected] This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Science & Technology Libraries on 10 December 2017 and available online: https://doi-org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1080/0194262X.2017.1395722. Abstract Ruth Hubbard (1924-2016) is known for her groundbreaking research on the biochemistry and photochemistry of the eye and for her social activism. In 1974 she was the first woman to be tenured in biology at Harvard. -
Paradigms of Sex Research and Women in STEM
Paradigms of Sex Research and Women in STEM Jeffrey W. Lockhart University of Michigan Department of Sociology and Center for the Study of Complex Systems [email protected] 24. May 2021 Preprint – Accepted Manuscript Suggested citation: Lockhart, Jeffrey W. 2021. “Paradigms of Sex Research and Women in STEM.” Gender & Society 35(3): 449-475. SocArXiv preprint: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/zajyg Supplemental materials and data: https://osf.io/4jmuw Publisher’s version: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JMFNA939HPATJVF37SRI/full Lockhart | 2 ABSTRACT Scientists’ identities and social locations influence their work, but the content of scientific work can also influence scientists. Theory from feminist science studies, autoethnographic accounts, interviews, and experiments indicate that the substance of scientific research can have profound effects on how scientists are treated by colleagues and their sense of belonging in science. I bring together this disparate literature under the framework of professional cultures and show population-level trends supporting it. Drawing on the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the Web of Science, I use computational social science tools to argue that the way scientists write about sex in their research influences the future gender ratio of PhDs awarded across 53 subfields of the life sciences over a span of 47 years. Specifically, I show that a critical paradigm of “feminist biology” that seeks to de-essentialize sex and gender corresponds to increases in women’s graduation rates, while “sex difference” research—sometimes called “neurosexism” because of its emphasis on essential, categorical differences—has negative effects on women’s graduation rates in most fields. Paradigms of Sex Research and Women in STEM | 3 In 2005 Harvard University’s president, Lawrence Summers, sparked heated debates over the causes of women’s under-representation in many STEM fields. -
Bad Apples: Feminist Politics and Feminist Scholarship
BAD APPLES: FEMINIST POLITICS AND FEMINIST SCHOLARSHIP Abstract: Some exceptional and surprising mistakes of scholarship made in the writings of a number of feminist academics (Ruth Bleier, Ruth Hubbard, Susan Bordo, Sandra Harding, and Rae Langton) are examined in detail. This essay offers the psychological hypothesis that these mistakes were the result of political passion, and concludes with some remarks about the ability of the social sciences to study the effect of the politics of the researcher on the quality of his or her research. Really free labour . is at the same time damned serious and demands the greatest effort. (Karl Marx, Grundrisse)1 I. A BURDENED READER I find myself as a reader having to do more work than is fair. Writers are less careful than writers used to be, and reading has become burdensome. Maybe I have been reading the wrong books, but there is more to the story. The publication industry, which caters to scholarly fads and chases the rewards of instant marketability, encourages negligent scholarship. The postmodern Zeitgeist, too, contributes to the decline of authorial conscientiousness. Mary Warnock bemoans this philosophy, according to which "there is an infinite variety of points of view" and "we each construct our own world" (1996, xxiv). Even if not every scholar subscribes to this ontology, postmodernism is seductive. It has made its way surreptitiously into our daily lives, our habits and practices, and into our scholarship. Listen to Roland Barthes (1974, 120): [T]he meaning of a text lies not in this or that interpretation but in the . totality of its readings, in their plural system. -
George Wald 1906–1997
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES GEORGE WALD 1906–1997 A Biographical Memoir by JOHN E. DOWLING Biographical Memoirs, VOLUME 78 PUBLISHED 2000 BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. Courtesy of Harvard University News Office, Cambridge, Mass. GEORGE WALD November 18, 1906–April 12, 1997 BY JOHN E. DOWLING IOLOGY LOST ONE of its towering figures of the twentieth Bcentury with the passing of George Wald. A student of Selig Hecht, the major researcher in visual physiology of his generation, Wald unraveled the nature of the light-sens- ing molecules found in photoreceptor cells and was the dominant force in his field for over forty years. Beginning with postdoctoral research in the early 1930s, Wald showed that the visual pigment molecules consist of a protein (termed opsin) to which is bound a derivative of vitamin A (vitamin A aldehyde, now termed retinal). Retinal serves as chro- mophore for these molecules, absorbing the light and initi- ating conformational changes in the protein that lead even- tually to the excitation of the photoreceptor cells. Wald’s findings represented the first instance that a biochemical role for a fat-soluble vitamin was established and were widely recognized. Wald was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1950 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in physi- ology or medicine in 1967 for his monumental contribu- tions to our understanding of the molecular basis of photo- reception. In addition to being a superb scientist, Wald was a mar- velous teacher, lecturer, and writer. Time magazine named 299 300 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS him “one of the ten best teachers in the country” in a cover story published in 1966. -
Continuing American Patriarchies
Continuing American Patriarchies Leah Nutting Introduction At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Americans are still struggling with the issue of gender equality, and with the notion of equality itself. While this century has witnessed the suffrage movement, the feminist movements, and the shift of women into the democratic arenas of voting, the workforce, and the proverbial "marketplace," women have yet to secure political or economic equality. In both public and private sectors, women are underrepresented-quantitatively and qualitatively-in top hierarchical positions of power (Bonvillain 1995). Furthermore, gender disparity in the labor market remains, as is indicated by the perpetual phenomena of the wage gap and occupational segregation, despite ideological, political, and legal efforts to make the market "gender-neutral" (Faludi 1991; Pujol 1995; Rhode 1997). In light of such slow progress, the question needs to be raised, and indeed, it has been raised, why has gender equality been so elusive in America, a democratic country founded upon the ideal of equality? While acknowledging that significant large-scale change takes time, feminists have argued that deeply entrenched patriarchal worldviews, exacerbated by a vehement backlash against feminism, have impeded progress (Faludi 1991). Gender equality has not been secured, they contend, because the necessary institutional changes are advanced begrudgingly, and often perceived as threatening to the social order. But there is a counter-analysis gaining currency in the American debate which simultaneously explains the impasse while providing an ideological barrier to change: it is the claim that gender equality has not been achieved because, as we have known all along, men and women are not equal.