Dan Gerling | Augustana University (original) (raw)
Papers by Dan Gerling
Janet Davis has been the best dissertation director a student could ask for. She has one of the m... more Janet Davis has been the best dissertation director a student could ask for. She has one of the most incredibly lucid minds I have encountered anywhere, an indefatigable work ethic, and great energy and vitality. She is a joy to work with and an incredible asset to the field of American studies. I'm grateful that she saw potential in this project from the beginning and so effectively communicated her enthusiasm for it. All three of my siblings-Bobby, Susie, and Andreas-have been great sources of support and encouragement throughout this process. But I owe Andreas special thanks. He encouraged me to go into American studies and unknowingly planted the seed of this project. In September of 2001, as my wife and I were on our "American Dream" road trip around the country, she inadvertently stole Andreas's black, velvet-covered copy of Dominique Laporte's History of Shit as we left his home in San Francisco. That book-actually only a history of French excrement-left me wondering why there was not a history of American excrement. So I thank Andreas for being a connoisseur of subversive literature and for always reminding me that he was looking out for his little brother. He also gave me very helpful feedback on the prospectus of this dissertation. My mother-in-law, Irene Fonte, provided so much support to my wife and me while we raised two kids, taught classes, and wrote our dissertations. I owe her my deepest gratitude. My parents, Max and Petra Gerling, have been unconditionally wonderful since I was born. They've been the kindest and most loving parents. They didn't flinch-even a little-when I told them what my dissertation would be about. And they have always listened patiently to my stories and anecdotes. My two sons, Falco and Marlo, have been great assets to this project in ways they probably don't yet understand. Aside from providing countless smiles and hugs, they brought a unique perspective to this project-never thinking it was weird or even funny that their dad was writing a history of poop. Okay, there was some laughter. Still, I hope they grow up in a society where the notion of poop is unencumbered by layers of shame, stigma, and over-politeness so we can more rationally address some of the very real problems associated with it. Spending time with them also gave me extra incentive to finish this project. Finally, I couldn't have completed this work without the love and support of my wife, Pilar Cabrera Fonte. I've been so fortunate to have a partner with whom I can share not only a family, travel, and a home, but also books and ideas. Raising kids (and changing their diapers) with her has been my greatest joy.
Annual Review of Entomology, 1989
Food, Culture & Society, 2019
We show that certain structures and constructions of the Whitham theory, an essential part of the... more We show that certain structures and constructions of the Whitham theory, an essential part of the perturbation theory of soliton equations, can be instrumental in understanding the geometry of the moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces with marked points. We use the ideas of the Whitham theory to define local coordinates and construct foliations on the moduli spaces. We use these constructions to give a new proof of the Diaz' bound on the dimension of complete subvarieties of the moduli spaces. Geometrically, we study the properties of meromorphic differentials with real periods and their degenerations.
Janet Davis has been the best dissertation director a student could ask for. She has one of the m... more Janet Davis has been the best dissertation director a student could ask for. She has one of the most incredibly lucid minds I have encountered anywhere, an indefatigable work ethic, and great energy and vitality. She is a joy to work with and an incredible asset to the field of American studies. I'm grateful that she saw potential in this project from the beginning and so effectively communicated her enthusiasm for it. All three of my siblings-Bobby, Susie, and Andreas-have been great sources of support and encouragement throughout this process. But I owe Andreas special thanks. He encouraged me to go into American studies and unknowingly planted the seed of this project. In September of 2001, as my wife and I were on our "American Dream" road trip around the country, she inadvertently stole Andreas's black, velvet-covered copy of Dominique Laporte's History of Shit as we left his home in San Francisco. That book-actually only a history of French excrement-left me wondering why there was not a history of American excrement. So I thank Andreas for being a connoisseur of subversive literature and for always reminding me that he was looking out for his little brother. He also gave me very helpful feedback on the prospectus of this dissertation. My mother-in-law, Irene Fonte, provided so much support to my wife and me while we raised two kids, taught classes, and wrote our dissertations. I owe her my deepest gratitude. My parents, Max and Petra Gerling, have been unconditionally wonderful since I was born. They've been the kindest and most loving parents. They didn't flinch-even a little-when I told them what my dissertation would be about. And they have always listened patiently to my stories and anecdotes. My two sons, Falco and Marlo, have been great assets to this project in ways they probably don't yet understand. Aside from providing countless smiles and hugs, they brought a unique perspective to this project-never thinking it was weird or even funny that their dad was writing a history of poop. Okay, there was some laughter. Still, I hope they grow up in a society where the notion of poop is unencumbered by layers of shame, stigma, and over-politeness so we can more rationally address some of the very real problems associated with it. Spending time with them also gave me extra incentive to finish this project. Finally, I couldn't have completed this work without the love and support of my wife, Pilar Cabrera Fonte. I've been so fortunate to have a partner with whom I can share not only a family, travel, and a home, but also books and ideas. Raising kids (and changing their diapers) with her has been my greatest joy.
Annual Review of Entomology, 1989
Food, Culture & Society, 2019
We show that certain structures and constructions of the Whitham theory, an essential part of the... more We show that certain structures and constructions of the Whitham theory, an essential part of the perturbation theory of soliton equations, can be instrumental in understanding the geometry of the moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces with marked points. We use the ideas of the Whitham theory to define local coordinates and construct foliations on the moduli spaces. We use these constructions to give a new proof of the Diaz' bound on the dimension of complete subvarieties of the moduli spaces. Geometrically, we study the properties of meromorphic differentials with real periods and their degenerations.