Rachel B. Gross
@rachelbgross.bsky.social
Studying U.S. Jews and finding religion in unexpected places | Assoc. Prof. at SF State | Author: Beyond the Synagogue | Now: Mary Antin’s spiritual adventures | https://linktr.ee/rachelbgross
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
So a little bit about federal grants being suspended from the perspective of a retired person who was funded by NIH grants for 20-odd years. I first want to extend my sorrow to colleagues who are affected by this. Next, for those of you who don’t work in academic science, I want to share how…1/4
January 28, 2025 at 2:57 AM
So a little bit about federal grants being suspended from the perspective of a retired person who was funded by NIH grants for 20-odd years. I first want to extend my sorrow to colleagues who are affected by this. Next, for those of you who don’t work in academic science, I want to share how…1/4
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
I can't stop thinking about these people risking their lives to save this city and the people in it who voted just a few months ago to keep them working in these unimaginable conditions
These teenagers and young men — 95% of whom are Black, Latinx, or Filipino — earn between $2.20 and $4 per hour, plus an additional $1 an hour when they’re actively fighting fires, according to the DJJ. ⤵️
In California, Incarcerated Teenagers Help Fight Wildfires
"You’re put in danger every time you’re on the fire line.”
www.teenvogue.com
January 9, 2025 at 12:33 AM
I can't stop thinking about these people risking their lives to save this city and the people in it who voted just a few months ago to keep them working in these unimaginable conditions
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Mask bans in NY are once again being portrayed as necessary in the fight against antisemitism.
This ableist piece of security theater is bad for everyone so if you are Jewish - and especially if you live in NY and most especially if you have a title like Rabbi - please sign.
This ableist piece of security theater is bad for everyone so if you are Jewish - and especially if you live in NY and most especially if you have a title like Rabbi - please sign.
Jews for Mask Rights Open Letter Against Mask Bans
New York is proposing mask bans under the guise of "Jewish safety," but these policies put Jews and all New Yorkers in danger. Join us in saying #NoNYMaskBan!
www.jewsformaskrights.com
January 9, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Mask bans in NY are once again being portrayed as necessary in the fight against antisemitism.
This ableist piece of security theater is bad for everyone so if you are Jewish - and especially if you live in NY and most especially if you have a title like Rabbi - please sign.
This ableist piece of security theater is bad for everyone so if you are Jewish - and especially if you live in NY and most especially if you have a title like Rabbi - please sign.
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
ILL librarians are real live heroes of the revolution
January 3, 2025 at 8:49 PM
ILL librarians are real live heroes of the revolution
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
From Rubel, this: “You can get pickle everything now. This is really my time.”
With 2024 ending — and not a moment too soon, frankly — I delved into one of the burning questions of the year: Why is everyone so obsessed with pickles?
The dill of a lifetime? In a nation that’s enduring its own sour patch, the pickle dominated 2024
When did we know for sure? Was it April, when Nature Made introduced its pickle-flavored gummy vitamins?
apnews.com
December 31, 2024 at 8:57 PM
From Rubel, this: “You can get pickle everything now. This is really my time.”
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Still thinking on @rachelbgross.bsky.social’s point. There’s something lovely about a certain kind of innovation, one made intentionally to enhance a tradition. Many of my favorite traditions became traditions within living memory!
December 31, 2024 at 12:06 AM
Still thinking on @rachelbgross.bsky.social’s point. There’s something lovely about a certain kind of innovation, one made intentionally to enhance a tradition. Many of my favorite traditions became traditions within living memory!
We're not ruining holidays, we're enhancing them ✨🤣
As a religion professor AND the relative who "ruins" most holidays with extra facts, I love this.
December 30, 2024 at 11:41 PM
We're not ruining holidays, we're enhancing them ✨🤣
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Potato latkes aren't really that old — but they *feel* old.
That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SF State Professor @rachelbgross.bsky.social:
That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SF State Professor @rachelbgross.bsky.social:
OPINION | The true history of the potato latke
Potato latkes aren't really that old — but they *feel* old. That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SFSU Prof. Rachel Gross.
jweekly.com
December 30, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Potato latkes aren't really that old — but they *feel* old.
That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SF State Professor @rachelbgross.bsky.social:
That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SF State Professor @rachelbgross.bsky.social:
My thoughts on the very recent history of potato latkes, now online as an opinion piece in @jewishsf.bsky.social:
Hanukkah potato pancakes are less than 200 years old, but learning how quickly new rituals become meaningful can add to holiday magic if we let it.
jweekly.com/2024/12/30/p...
Hanukkah potato pancakes are less than 200 years old, but learning how quickly new rituals become meaningful can add to holiday magic if we let it.
jweekly.com/2024/12/30/p...
OPINION | The true history of the potato latke
Potato latkes aren't really that old — but they *feel* old. That's what scholars call an "invented tradition," writes SFSU Prof. Rachel Gross.
jweekly.com
December 30, 2024 at 9:54 PM
My thoughts on the very recent history of potato latkes, now online as an opinion piece in @jewishsf.bsky.social:
Hanukkah potato pancakes are less than 200 years old, but learning how quickly new rituals become meaningful can add to holiday magic if we let it.
jweekly.com/2024/12/30/p...
Hanukkah potato pancakes are less than 200 years old, but learning how quickly new rituals become meaningful can add to holiday magic if we let it.
jweekly.com/2024/12/30/p...
In @theguardian.com, Deena Prichep tells us about the Reformed Druids of North America, the religion that began as a way to get around a @carletoncollege.bsky.social requirement. I love this so much. #AmRel
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
American druid: how a 1960s campus prank became a serious lifestyle
What began as a protest against a college religion requirement led to sects nationwide and, arguably, a religion
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2024 at 12:20 AM
In @theguardian.com, Deena Prichep tells us about the Reformed Druids of North America, the religion that began as a way to get around a @carletoncollege.bsky.social requirement. I love this so much. #AmRel
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Read some great food history!
I wrote about the shockingly recent history of potato latkes and teaching about the development of holiday traditions for @jewishsf.bsky.social, included in a recipe booklet sent out to donors
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
December 27, 2024 at 3:00 AM
Read some great food history!
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Love this! And yes, to punch up Rachel’s closing point—understanding how rituals become meaningful makes them all the more meaningful, not less!
I wrote about the shockingly recent history of potato latkes and teaching about the development of holiday traditions for @jewishsf.bsky.social, included in a recipe booklet sent out to donors
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
December 27, 2024 at 3:10 AM
Love this! And yes, to punch up Rachel’s closing point—understanding how rituals become meaningful makes them all the more meaningful, not less!
I wrote about the shockingly recent history of potato latkes and teaching about the development of holiday traditions for @jewishsf.bsky.social, included in a recipe booklet sent out to donors
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
December 27, 2024 at 1:28 AM
I wrote about the shockingly recent history of potato latkes and teaching about the development of holiday traditions for @jewishsf.bsky.social, included in a recipe booklet sent out to donors
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
PDF: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fu583...
Appreciate this! My work is challenging conventional narratives of Mary Antin, esp.: "She disappeared into relative obscurity, spending much of the rest of her life in and out of mental hospitals"
In fact, she spent 3 decades immersed in exciting spiritual communities that supported her like family
In fact, she spent 3 decades immersed in exciting spiritual communities that supported her like family
Congratulations!
And as it happens, 10 days ago, she was the subject of Massachusetts Humanities daily Mass Moment:
December 8, 1912
Crowd Gathers to Hear Writer Mary Antin
www.massmoments.org/moment-detai...
And as it happens, 10 days ago, she was the subject of Massachusetts Humanities daily Mass Moment:
December 8, 1912
Crowd Gathers to Hear Writer Mary Antin
www.massmoments.org/moment-detai...
Thrilled to have a short piece on my current project—the spiritual adventures of 20th-century Jewish writer Mary Antin—in @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives, in the fascinating new conversion issue.
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
December 19, 2024 at 12:37 AM
Appreciate this! My work is challenging conventional narratives of Mary Antin, esp.: "She disappeared into relative obscurity, spending much of the rest of her life in and out of mental hospitals"
In fact, she spent 3 decades immersed in exciting spiritual communities that supported her like family
In fact, she spent 3 decades immersed in exciting spiritual communities that supported her like family
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
... and HBI's Scholar in Residence Program. The deadline to apply for the 2025-26 academic year is coming up in February. bit.ly/HBIScholar /end
Scholars in Residence Program
bit.ly
December 18, 2024 at 9:35 PM
... and HBI's Scholar in Residence Program. The deadline to apply for the 2025-26 academic year is coming up in February. bit.ly/HBIScholar /end
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
More on the HBI Research Awards... bit.ly/HBIResearchA... 2/3
HBI Research Awards
bit.ly
December 18, 2024 at 9:35 PM
More on the HBI Research Awards... bit.ly/HBIResearchA... 2/3
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Congratulations to @rachelbgross.bsky.social on this publication in the AJS @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives. HBI is delighted to have supported Gross’ work on her Mary Antin project through a Research Award and HBI Residency. 1/3
Thrilled to have a short piece on my current project—the spiritual adventures of 20th-century Jewish writer Mary Antin—in @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives, in the fascinating new conversion issue.
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
December 18, 2024 at 9:35 PM
Congratulations to @rachelbgross.bsky.social on this publication in the AJS @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives. HBI is delighted to have supported Gross’ work on her Mary Antin project through a Research Award and HBI Residency. 1/3
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
I will never stop being aghast that the United States built a higher education system that was literally the envy of the entire world—our bitterest political enemies nonetheless sent their children to us to be educated, it was so good—& then just decided to systematically, ruthlessly dismantle it
December 16, 2024 at 9:39 PM
I will never stop being aghast that the United States built a higher education system that was literally the envy of the entire world—our bitterest political enemies nonetheless sent their children to us to be educated, it was so good—& then just decided to systematically, ruthlessly dismantle it
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
Sometimes people tell me they admire my work. If thats you, i hope you'll hear the most important thing I can say as an academic: you are more important than this system and the ways it'll break you. You break because you're human and it's not built for us. Its not weak to pause, pivot, or quit.
December 17, 2024 at 1:18 AM
Sometimes people tell me they admire my work. If thats you, i hope you'll hear the most important thing I can say as an academic: you are more important than this system and the ways it'll break you. You break because you're human and it's not built for us. Its not weak to pause, pivot, or quit.
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
SO VERY EXCITED to share this NEH Summer Institute website on Jewish print culture!!
#nehgrant @nehgov.bsky.social @barbaramann.bsky.social
#bookhistory 📜
artsci.case.edu/neh/
#nehgrant @nehgov.bsky.social @barbaramann.bsky.social
#bookhistory 📜
artsci.case.edu/neh/
Between Memory and the Archive: Jewish Print Culture – NEH Summer Institute
artsci.case.edu
December 13, 2024 at 8:06 PM
SO VERY EXCITED to share this NEH Summer Institute website on Jewish print culture!!
#nehgrant @nehgov.bsky.social @barbaramann.bsky.social
#bookhistory 📜
artsci.case.edu/neh/
#nehgrant @nehgov.bsky.social @barbaramann.bsky.social
#bookhistory 📜
artsci.case.edu/neh/
Thrilled to have a short piece on my current project—the spiritual adventures of 20th-century Jewish writer Mary Antin—in @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives, in the fascinating new conversion issue.
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
December 13, 2024 at 9:59 PM
Thrilled to have a short piece on my current project—the spiritual adventures of 20th-century Jewish writer Mary Antin—in @jewishstudies.bsky.social Perspectives, in the fascinating new conversion issue.
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
Full issue: www.associationforjewishstudies.org/docs/default...
Reposted by Rachel B. Gross
hey bluesky, in case anyone's interested, I wrote this for my students about why I don't want them to use anything AI in my classes. It interrupts the course calendar part of the syllabus, coming immediately after the first day there's a writing assignment assigned.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
A note on AI usage
A note on AI usage I genuinely want you to succeed in this class. One of my very favorite things about my job as a professor is when students are succeeding and I feel like I helped. I want you to suc...
docs.google.com
December 12, 2024 at 2:25 AM
hey bluesky, in case anyone's interested, I wrote this for my students about why I don't want them to use anything AI in my classes. It interrupts the course calendar part of the syllabus, coming immediately after the first day there's a writing assignment assigned.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...