Jessica Birch

Associate Teaching Professor, Ethnic Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

239 Shatzel Hall
419-372-7610
jebirch@bgsu.edu

Prior to becoming part of BGSU’s faculty in Ethnic Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, I taught at Case Western Reserve University, Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana University South Bend, and Purdue University.

My teaching and research focus on how cultural narratives justify and perpetuate social inequality, using the theoretical lenses of feminist theory, critical race theory, critical pedagogy, and cultural studies. I am particularly interested in the intersections among these areas, and my current research project examines the vampire in literature within the paradigm of dominant neoliberal discourse.

I am the area chair for Race & Ethnicity, as well as for Popular Culture & Pedagogy, for the Midwest Popular Culture Association. In addition to my affiliations with the Midwest Popular Culture Association, I am a member of and regular presenter for the National Women’s Studies Association, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the National Popular Culture Association.

Education:

Ph.D. American Studies with a focus in Theory and Cultural Studies, Purdue University
  Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Purdue University
  M.A. English, Indiana University South Bend
  B.G.S. with a focus in Philosophy and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Indiana University South Bend

Recent Publications:

• “Love, Labor, and Lorde: The Tools My Grandmother Gave Me.” Introductory Women’s and Gender Studies Reader. Ed. L. Ayu Saraswati, Barbara Shaw, and Heather Rellihan. Oxford University Press, 2017. (forthcoming)
• “The Appropriation of the Gothic in Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark.” Gothic and Racism. Ed. Cristina Artenie. Montreal: Universitas Press, 2015.
• “From Vampires to Zombies: The Revisionist Recreation of I Am Legend.” The Supernatural Revamped: From Timeworn Legends to 21^st Century Chic. Ed. Barbara Brodman and James E. Doan. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2015.
• “Gender as Institution.” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Ed. John Michael Ryan. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.
• “Exploitation by Invitation.” Race in the Vampire Narrative.  Ed. U. Melissa Anyiwo. Boston: Sense Publishers, 2015.

Courses taught at BGSU:

Introduction to Ethnic Studies
Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Women of Color in the U.S.
Contemporary Issues in Native American Studies