Rachel Wong

Rachel Wong works at the intersection of literature and aesthetics. Her current research uncovers how a constellation of German thinkers, writing in the wake of the French Revolution and the Second World War, sought to uphold their ideals of freedom amidst political violence by turning to the power of art and aesthetic experience. Her book in progress, "After Schiller: Art as a Figure of History," argues that writers like Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno, and Thomas Mann drew on classical aesthetics in order to show how art helps us work out who we are—and who we can hope to become—in relation to our place in history. Related articles and articles in progress explore concepts like fate, multiplicity, and aporia in the works of Lucas Cranach the Elder, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, and Ingeborg Bachmann.

Before receiving her doctorate in Social Thought and Germanic Studies from the University of Chicago, Wong completed an MSt in Ancient Greek Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and a dual AB/AM in Social Studies and East Asian Studies at Harvard University. In 2023, her work was recognized with a Quadrille Scholarship from the Germanistic Society of America, and in 2024, she delivered the annual Prawer Lecture at the English Goethe Society in London. She is passionate about mentoring undergraduates in her field. Please reach out if you have interests in common!