Gabe Friedman
Gabe Friedman
MA Student
Gabe Friedman (he/they) is a Master’s student in the Department of American Studies. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Gabe graduated from GW with a Bachelor's degree last spring and is continuing their studies within the combined BA/MA program this year. Gabe’s research explores DC’s radical Jewish history through the educational endeavors of Jews for Urban Justice, the first explicitly Jewish activist organization on the New Left, focusing on the “Freedom Seders” of 1969-1971. Gabe’s areas of interest include pedagogy, epistemology, liberation theology, modern American and Jewish cultural history, as well as literary, critical, and cultural theory. He is an aspiring high school humanities educator.
Is there one book/piece of media that inspired you to pursue the field of American Studies? If so, which one and why?
Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War by Viet Thanh Nguyen immediately comes to mind. I read it during my second semester at GW, in Professor Wald’s course on “Modern American Cultural History” and in Professor McAlister’s course on “The United States in the World.” This text upended (and, more importantly, recalibrated) my understanding of the American War in Vietnam, while introducing me to the vast interdisciplinary fields of American cultural studies and cultural memory studies. I declared my major the following semester!
What advice would you give to GW undergraduates in American Studies?
Get outside of the Foggy-Bottom-Bubble as early and as often as possible.
Imagine you're up to bat as a Major League Baseball Player. You need a walk-out song. Which would you choose?
“Hotel Arizona” by Wilco, off of their second album Being There, is a no-brainer for me. The opening organ sounds like it's pulled straight from the ballpark, while its title harkens back to my beloved home state. I would likely swing and miss, but this song is a hit in my humble opinion.
What are you currently reading?
I recently picked up a used copy of Will Hermes’ biography of Lou Reed, The King of New York, and have absolutely adored it. I am also working my way through Hanif Abdurraquib’s works (thus far), beginning with his collection of essays A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance.