Philosophy Theses and Dissertations

Zack, Naomi Luttrell, Johanna 2013-10-10T23:19:21Z 2013-10-10T23:19:21Z 2013-10-10 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/13425 This dissertation is a philosophical inquiry into the problem of the slums that develop in and around large cities in the Global South, considered in the context of globalization. I argue first that theories of global justice must consider this new human condition engendered by the global slums; second, that the language of alienation and dignity is crucial to conceptions of global poverty; third, that this alienation is in large part predicated on the exploitation of women's labor; and finally, that this dignitarian response to alienation is a critical addition to the Capabilities Approach. en_US University of Oregon All Rights Reserved. Dignity Gender Global Justice Poverty Gender, Alienation, and Dignity in Global Slums Electronic Thesis or Dissertation Ph.D. doctoral Department of Philosophy University of Oregon

Raymer, Michael Parks, Daniel 2013-10-03T23:30:11Z 2013-10-03T23:30:11Z 2013-10-03 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/13221 The advent of highly-coherent x-ray light sources, such as those now available world-wide in modern third-generation synchrotrons and increasingly available in free-electron lasers, is driving the need for improved analytical and experimental techniques which exploit the coherency of the generated light. As the light illuminating a sample approaches full coherence, a simple Fourier transform describes the diffraction pattern generated by the scattered light in the far field; because the Fourier transform of an object is unique, coherent scattering can directly probe local structure in the scattering object instead of bulk properties. In this dissertation, we exploit the coherence of Advanced Light Source beamline 12.0.2 to build three types of novel coherent scattering microscopes. First, we extend the techniques of coherent diffractive imaging and Fourier transform holography, which uses iterative computational methods to invert oversampled coherent speckle patterns, into reflection geometry. This proof-of-principle experiment demonstrates a method by which reflection Bragg peaks, such as those from the orbitally-ordered phase of complex metal oxides, might eventually be imaged. Second, we apply a similar imaging method to the x-ray beam itself to directly image the mutual coherence function with only a single diffraction pattern. This technique supersedes the double-slit experiments commonly seen in the scattering literature to measure the mutual intensity function by using a set of apertures which effectively contains all possible double slit geometries. Third, we show how to evaluate the speckle patterns taken from a labyrinthine domain pattern for "hidden" rotational symmetries. For this measurement, we modify the iterative algorithms used to invert speckle patterns to generate a large number of domain configurations with the same incoherent scattering profile as the candidate pattern and then use these simulations as the basis for a statistical inference of the degree of ordering in the domain configuration. We propose extending this measurement to position-resolved speckle patterns, creating a symmetry-sensitive microscope. The three new techniques described herein may be employed at current and future light sources. en_US University of Oregon All Rights Reserved. coherent scattering fourier optics lensless imaging X-ray Scattering Techniques for Coherent Imaging in Reflection Geometry, Measurement of Mutual Intensity, and Symmetry Determination in Disordered Materials Electronic Thesis or Dissertation Ph.D. doctoral Department of Philosophy University of Oregon

Nail, Thomas 2013-01-08T22:15:11Z 2013-01-08T22:15:11Z 2011-03 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12569 249 pages We are witnessing today the beginning of a return to and renewal of the theory and practice of political revolution. This return to revolution, however, takes none of the traditional forms: the capture of the state, the political representation of the party, the centrality of the proletariat, or the leadership of the vanguard. Rather, given the failure of such tactics over the last century, coupled with the socio-economic changes brought by neoliberalism in the 1980s, revolutionary strategy has developed in a more heterogenous and non-representational direction. The aim of this dissertation is to map an outline of this new direction by drawing on the theory and practice of two of its main inspirations: French political philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari and, what the New York Times has called “the first post-modern revolution,” the 1994 Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas, Mexico. The aim of this dissertation is thus threefold. First, I provide a philosophical clarification and outline of a revolutionary strategy that both describes and advances the process of constructing real alternatives to state-capitalism. Second, I focus on three influential and emblematic figures of revolutionary history, mutually disclosive of one another, as well as this larger revolutionary return: Deleuze, Guattari, and the Zapatistas. Third, and more specifically, I propose four novel theoretical practices that characterize this return to revolution: (1) a multi-centered diagnostic of political power; (2) a prefigurative theory of political transformation; (3) a participatory theory of the body politic; and (4) a theory of political belonging based on mutual global solidarity. en_US University of Oregon rights_reserved Deleuze Guattari Political Philosophy Post-structuralism Revolution Zapatista Returning to Revolution: Deleuze, Guattari, and Zapatismo Thesis