Rachel B. Gross

Education

• Ph.D., Religion, Princeton University, 2014
• M.A., Religion, Princeton University, 2011
• M.A., Religious Studies, University of Virginia, 2008
• B.A., Jewish Studies, University of Virginia, 2007

Research Interests

• American Jewish history
• Religion in the United States
• Visual and material culture
• Public history
• Food studies

Courses

• JS/AMST/HIST/RELS 265 Christmas and Hanukkah in the United States
• JS 280 Introduction to Jewish Studies
• JS 301 Judaism: An Introduction
• JS/HIST 449 American Jewish History
• JS/HIST 421 Food Fights: The Politics of American Jewish Consumption, 1654–present
• JS/HIST/HUM 441 American Jews and Popular Culture
• JS/HUM/PHIL 501 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Publications

Books

• Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice. New York: New York University Press, 2021. Finalist, 2021 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies, awarded by the Jewish Book Council. Honorable mention, 2021 Saul Viener Book Prize, awarded by the American Jewish Historical Society.

Articles, Book Chapters, and Exhibits

• “Lived Religion and Contemporary U.S. Jews.” In The Princeton Companion to Jewish Studies, edited by Leora Batnitzky, Eve Krakowski, and Steven Weitzman. Princeton University Press, forthcoming.
• Co-curator, Next Generations: Turning the Page exhibition. Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore. Opened February 2, 2025.
• “Friends Are the Cream of Life: Mary Antin and Jessie Sampter’s Religious Creativity.” Co-authored with Sarah Imhoff. Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation 33, no. 3: 354–384.
• “Rebecca Rubin: American Girl and American Jewish Heritage.” In American Contact: Intercultural Encounter and the Boundaries of Book History, edited by Rhae Lynn Barnes and Glenda Goodman. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024.
• “American Religion at The Met Cloisters.” Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief 18, no. 4 (2022): 459-484.
• “Feeling Jewish: Nostalgia and American Jewish Religion.” CrossCurrents 71, no. 1 (April 2021): 19–33.
• “Memory.” In “A Universe of Terms” series, edited by Mona Oraby and Daniel Vaca. The Immanent Frame: Secularism, Religion, and the Public Sphere. May 29, 2020.
• “Jews, Schmaltz, and Crisco in the Age of Industrial Food.” In Feasting and Fasting: The History and Ethics of Jewish Food, edited by Aaron S. Gross, Jody Meyers, and Jordan D. Rosenblum. New York: New York University Press, 2020.
• “Table Talk: American Jewish Foodways and the Study of Religion.” Religion Compass 13, no. 4 (March 2019).
• "Moving Parts: Contraptions and Jewish Traditions." In Contraption: Rediscovering California Jewish Artists, edited by Renny Pritikin and Mark D. Johnson. Munich, Germany: Hirmer Publishers, 2018.
• "People of the Picture Book: PJ Library and American Jewish Religion." In Religion and Popular Culture in America, 3rd edition, edited by Bruce David Forbes and Jeffrey H. Mahan, University of California Press, 2017.
• "Field Trip to the Kosher Kitchen: Religion and Politics in the University Dining Hall." Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy 25, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2014), 128–137.
• "‘Draydel Salad’: The Serious Business of Jewish Food and Fun in Postwar America." In Religion, Food, and Eating in North America, edited by Benjamin E. Zeller, Marie W. Dallam, Reid L. Neilson, and Nora L. Rubel. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014

Public Scholarship

• “Can You Tell If You’re Jewish from Your DNA?” In Judaism in Five Minutes, edited by Sarah Imhoff. Equinox Publishing, forthcoming.
• “Potato Latkes Really Aren’t That Old. Here’s Their True History.” J. The Jewish News of Northern California. 30 December 2024.
• “‘I Don’t Care What I Am Called’: Mary Antin and the Boundaries of Religious Identity.” AJS Perspectives: The Magazine of the Association for Jewish Studies (Winter 2024: The Conversion Issue): 38–40.
• “Is American Girl a Religious Authority?” Society for U.S. Intellectual History Blog. November 22, 2021.
• “If You’re Asking American Jews If They’re Religious, You Don’t Understand American Jews.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 11, 2021.
• The Politics of Nostalgia.” Religion & Politics. February 2, 2021.
• “How Children’s Books Keep the Jewish American Immigrant Story Alive.” Alma. January 13, 2021
• “How to Pick the Fictional Bubbe and Zayde Who Are Right for You.” In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies. December 1, 2020.
• “Crisco and Jews: A Story ‘4,000 years’ in the Making.” J. The Jewish News of Northern California. March 2, 2020.
• "A Million Matzo Balls." Co-authored with Jessica Kirzane. The Yiddish Book Center's Great Jewish Books Teacher Resources. March 30, 2018.
• "Jewish Food Does Not Begin and End with Kosher." JTA, February 15, 2018.
• "'An Unjustified S(ch)mear Campaign': Narratives of American Jewish Food." Stroum Center for Jewish Studies E-Journal, University of Washington, November 16, 2017.
• “Is the Statue of Liberty a Jewish Woman?” J. The  Jewish News of Northern California, July 3, 2017.
• “‘Anne ♥ Peter’ and the Rise of Anne Frank Fan Videos.” The Jewish Daily Forward, The Sisterhood blog, November 17, 2015.
• “Who Counts as a Jew?” Religion & Politics, October 8, 2013.

Selected Media Appearances

• Podcast interview: Judaism Unbound. Episode 278, “The Deli Is My Synagogue.” June 11, 2021.
• Podcast interview: New Books Network. “Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice.” April 19, 2021.
• Newspaper interview: Andrew Silow-Carroll. “Is the Jewish Deli the New Synagogue?” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 11, 2021.
• Magazine interview: Briallen Hopper. “11 Questions: Beyond the Synagogue by Rachel B. Gross.” Killing the Buddha. February 8, 2021.
• Public conversation: The Great Big Jewish Food Fest. “What We Talk About When We Study Jewish Food: Scholarly Perspectives.” In conversation with Dr. Jordan Rosenblum. May 20, 2020.
• Radio interview: Deena Prichep. “How A Corporation Convinced American Jews to Reach for Crisco.” NPR Weekend Edition Sunday. December 2, 2018.

Academic Associations

• American Academy of Religion
• American Jewish Historical Society
• Association for Jewish Studies

CV