Rebecca Gross

I’m currently pursuing my PhD in literature at UC Santa Cruz.

My research interests include cultural objects post-1945; comparative diaspora studies; coalitional politics; cultural memory; lore, mysticism, and surrealism; speculative and utopian arts & literature; and Marxist critical theory. My current project looks at diasporic Jewish anti-Zionist literature, film, and performance art, and examines how employing the speculative and fantastical through these forms works to imagine a future of Jewishness untethered from Zionism, imperialism, and more generally, any single territorial attachment.

I’m also an educator, currently working as teaching assistant for the UCSC literature department. I’m a head steward with my union, UAW 2865, where I organize with comrades using a mass work strategy.

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.