WELCOME IN REED

14 Through the Portal

Josh Riedel ’07 was Instagram’s first employee. His debut novel plunges readers into startup life.

BY REBECCA JACOBSON

16 Fields of Resistance

BY ROMEL HERNANDEZ

Alan Shusterman [chemistry] William Diebold [art history] Minh Tran [dance]

Over the past months, I have noticed how challenging it can be to remember dates and sequences of events in the wake of the disruptions brought about by the pandemic. Cheryl and I will be reminiscing about dinner with friends or a concert and when we try to pinpoint when it happened, we simply cannot get it right. We run searches in our calendars and look through emails , hoping to reconstruct the storyline of our lives. We know we’re not alone.

These struggles with memory remind me of a writing exercise the cartoonist Lynda Barry recommends. Barry notes that when most people write about their lives, especially as we get older, we tend to generalize and sentimentalize. Our memories can be somewhat flat. To excavate and bring our histories to life, she suggests that we make lists. For example, make a list of your favorite pairs of sneakers, car trips, libraries—whatever you think might open up a portal to your past. She notes that the first items that come to mind are usually not the most resonant ones, and so, she invites us to take note of when the items start to feel particularly vivid and then pick one of those vibrant ones to write about, focussing on it and writing it back into being.

Give it a try, perhaps in relation to Reed. You could make a list of the best places you discovered on campus for contemplation or classrooms where you were inspired. Many of the stories in this issue are likely to spark recollections—and there’s even a list that might lead you to make your own (memorable Paideia classes, anyone?).

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Volume 102, No.1

REED MAGAZINE EDITOR

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Joanne Hossack ’82 joanne@reed.edu

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Robin Tovey ’97 reed.magazine@reed.edu

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Virginia O. Hancock ’62

REED COLLEGE RELATIONS

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Hugh Porter

DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Sheena McFarland

Reed College is an institution of higher education in the liberal arts and sciences devoted to the intrinsic value of intellectual pursuit and governed by the highest standards of scholarly practice, critical thought, and creativity.

My Reed list, so far, looks like this: the blue bridge lit up at night, a seasoned weathergram rustling in the breeze, cherry blossoms viewed from east-facing windows in Eliot Hall, calligraphed letters from Reedie alums, plastic laurels on the caps of graduating seniors. Cherished flashes of memory, the kind that endure.

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It is worth noting that Michael Templeton ’63 [In Memoriam, December 2022] and Frances (Brown) Nankin ’71, both Reedies, spearheaded the science and math content for the awardwinning PBS Kids shows The Magic School Bus and Cyberchase Reed can take some credit for the shows’ unique and innovative approaches to basic elementary curriculum. Michael and I worked together for nearly 20 years, and I miss the gratifying (and sometimes contentious) problem-solving!

Frances Nankin ’71 Brunswick, Maine

I was an assistant professor of history at Reed from 1958–62. Taking a leave of absence in 1962, I spent the next four years in Florence, Italy, doing research, and passed on to UCLA as a full professor in 1966. It goes without saying that I knew Prof. Marvin Levich [philosophy 1953–94] well [In Memoriam, June 2022]. I loved my teaching at Reed, the small classes, the intimacy, and the sharp intellectual ambience. Never again, at UCLA, was my teaching to be so stimulating, rewarding, and committed. Large classes are in some respects the impersonal enemy of education.

My wife, distinguished Irish novelist Julia O’Faolain, also taught at Reed. She taught French from 1958 to 1962. She passed away in October, 2020.

Professor Lauro Martines [history 1958–62] London, England