Writer | Editor | Researcher | Educator | Organizer
I’m currently pursuing my PhD in literature at UC Santa Cruz.
My research interests include cultural objects post-1945; comparative diaspora studies; coalitional organizing; cultural memory; folklore & mysticism; surreal and utopic thought; political theology; and Marxist critical theory. My dissertation project, Towards a Diasporic Internationalism, considers 21st century Jewish-American cultural objects that mobilize diasporic identification as a form of internationalism. The most successful of these objects, I argue, are those that adopt a multidirectional method — a non-linear way of relating to space and time, and an investment in coalitional praxis beyond the insularity of Jewish experience.
I’m also an educator with 6+ years experience teaching at the college level. Most recently, I was the instructor of record for a course I designed, Narratives of Resistance: Anti-Zionist Jewish Literature. I have experience teaching rhetoric & composition and first year writing, and I’ve worked as a teaching assistant for a variety of courses spanning from critical theory to film analysis to Jewish studies.
I am committed to fighting for a truly public education system and a university that prioritizes its students and workers over its private investments. I organize with with my union, UAW 4811, around demands that reflect this commitment.
Outside of academia, I work as a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, and have worked for clients such as Lux Magazine, NYT Bestselling author, David Shields; The Black Scholar journal. For hiring or collaboration inquiries, reach out to me at relgross (at) ucsc (dot) edu.