From an initial spark ignited by a passion for African American literature and history to transformative experiences that deepened her commitment to teaching and research, Gabriella's path has been marked by significant moments and influential figures. As she joins Princeton University, she discusses her motivations, key issues in the field, research aspirations, and the impact of her work on scholarly and societal conversations. Additionally, she reflects on the role of academics in public discourse, her teaching philosophy, and personal interests that bring balance to her life.

Can you share what initially motivated you to pursue African American Studies, and how this field has influenced your academic and professional development? 

A passion for African American literature and history initially motivated me to pursue African American Studies as an undergraduate at Stanford. In my first quarter, I enrolled in the coolest one-credit course: each week, we had lunch with a different African American Studies professor–historians, linguists, sociologists, literary scholars–and learned about their passions and paths. It was through these lunches that I learned what it meant to be a professor and that African American Studies was a space wherein I could craft a career for myself and belong to a vibrant community. 

Looking back on your academic journey, is there a particular moment or experience that you feel was especially transformative? 

There were several moments that deepened my commitment to the study and teaching of African American literature and abolitionist thought. One was feeling the lack of such sensibilities in the public policy curriculum I was offered. Another was taking a seminar with Angela Davis, who asked us, “How do you know you are free?”.

What aspects of Princeton University and its academic environment attracted you, and what are you most looking forward to as you join our community?

I am looking forward to joining Princeton's Department of African American Studies because of its demonstrated commitment to building intellectual community across disciplines. Coming from an English department, I am excited to share, situate, and develop my work alongside colleagues with other disciplinary orientations. The Department's conversation series seems to be one emblematic example of such collaborative thinking. I am also, of course, eager to attend the Toni Morrison Lectures and spend time with her papers in the Princeton University Library. 

Your research covers various topics within African American Studies. What do you see as the most critical or emerging issues within this field today? 

I am most interested in the long-standing question about the extent to which African American literatures are, or must be, political. How do we study and honor creative works for their artistic innovations without ignoring the political contexts out of which they were produced and to which they speak? How can we understand African American literature as an offering of world-making practice via forms other than realism? 

In what ways do you anticipate your research will impact both scholarly discussions and societal debates?

I hope that my work helps us re-imagine how we understand abolition and thereby expand the ways that we can practice abolition in everyday life. 

Could you discuss any specific research projects or scholarly initiatives you aim to pursue or expand upon during your time at Princeton?

At Princeton, I look forward to expanding my dissertation into my first book by examining the suicidal impulse present in each of the novels I study and raising the question of what existential crises and the destruction of self have to offer in the theory of abolition. I am also eager to expand my chapters on Toni Morrison and Gayl Jones in particular to theorize how abstractionist aesthetics operate in their works, and Black feminist creative expression more broadly. 

How have your previous experiences and any fellowships or awards you’ve received influenced your research and academic growth?

Receiving the Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts for my undergraduate thesis helped me conceive of my academic research as an endeavor in creativity. Serving as a mentor for the Diversity Undergraduate Research Incubator at NYU gave me an opportunity to pay forward the type of graduate mentorship I received as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. Between undergrad and grad school, I was invited to participate in an intergenerational conversation entitled “1968-2018: Remembering and Imagining Revolutionary Struggle” with Angela Davis and Michele Elam at Stanford. I collaborated on the interview questions and shared the stage with these two Black feminist thinkers to discuss models of leadership and the promise of prison abolition as a next horizon in the ongoing struggle for Black freedom. This conversation was an early inspiration for the questions I pondered in my dissertation. At NYU, my experiences as a teacher in the English department and as a consultant in the Writing Center made me deeply attuned to the analytical consequences of language, fortified my writing practice, and helped me impart a literary study mindset to students in a range of majors.

As someone deeply engaged in public scholarship, how do you view the role of academics in influencing public discourse and policy, and how do you fulfill this role in your own work?

My work engages the public issues of sexual violence and mass incarceration, despite that there is not always an immediate translation of academic knowledge production to public discourse and policy. During my postdoc I aim to find ways to share my writing and teaching beyond an academic audience.

What teaching goals do you have for your courses, and what key takeaways do you hope your students will gain?

My classroom is a space where students develop intellectual self-esteem through learning to read and write. Because all of my courses center textual analysis and literary-critical writing, my students learn how to ground their claims at the level of language. This rootedness enables them to grow in any direction. I encourage my students to be curious, to pursue their wildest inquiries, while helping them learn how to sustain those inquiries and write strong arguments about literature. Because I foster an inclusive classroom that addresses power in form and content, my students learn that the seminar and the page are spaces where they belong. My students learn to feed their imaginations so they may remain truly infinite. 

Outside of your professional work, what personal interests or activities do you engage in that help you maintain balance and fulfillment in your life?

I love playing with fashion and style, creating new traditions with my family, and soaking up my beloved NYC.