Joan Moelis Rappaport received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her dissertation, “Writing Selves: Constructing American Jewish Feminine Identity,” focuses on the writings of Grace Paley, Cynthia Ozick, and E.M. Broner. Rappaport is currently writing a book on African-American and American Jewish women’s literary identity. She teaches at De Anza College.