Isom Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer Venable

About Dr. Venable:

“I am invested in how social justice work focused directly on our respective communities in the South has the potential to transform them into more inclusive and feminist spaces.”

Dr. Jennifer Venable

Jennifer Venable is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Gender Studies for the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies. She earned a Ph.D. in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Oregon State University, an M.A. in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies from Texas Woman's University, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Jennifer’s work has appeared in The Southern Quarterly, and she has a forthcoming chapter in the second edition of Rethinking Women's and Gender Studies (Routledge). Using interview data conducted for her research, her scholarship integrates the stories of Cajun women—as counter-memory—within Cajun narratives and argues that their inclusion has the potential to re-imagine the history and boundaries of Cajun cultural identity. Utilizing Cajun history, politics, and foodways as the context from which Cajun women build feminist dwellings, Jennifer articulates a place-based and culturally specific "Cajun feminism" as the impetus for transforming Cajun culture into a more socially just space.

The following is a Q and A she did with our graduate assistant, Kara Russell:

Where are you from and what led you to the Isom Center?

I was born and raised in South Louisiana, in Cajun country. As a little kid, I hated the fact that I was Cajun, even though I didn’t fully understand what being Cajun entailed. I really believed that my identity as a Cajun individual and living in the South was tied to the things in my life that I disliked the most. I loosely understood that there were negative stereotypes—such as being ignorant, backwards, unintelligent, and trashy—associated with Cajun identity, and I figured that being poor was just a given for most Cajun people. I rejected most of the traditions that were important to Cajun culture, like the music and speaking Cajun French. And so, for me, South Louisiana represented a black hole that people rarely escaped, and I feared that I would be one of the many people who would get “stuck” here.

Basically, I grew up being told that getting a higher education would be the key to escaping the cycle of poverty. So, I set out really focused on trying to get as far away from Cajun culture and the South in general as possible.

My conflicts with South Louisiana, and the South more broadly, didn’t stop with childhood preconceptions, and during the ten years that I lived in other states in the U.S., I swore that I would never move back home. Living in various places in the U.S. reminded me of why many people who care about a socially just world do eventually leave South Louisiana and the South in general. But I was always thinking back to something that my little brother has always said to me: our community needs people who care about social justice to stay in the South and do work towards changing it.

So, these realizations led me to conduct research on Cajun identity and culture, which then helped me to realize my responsibility as a white woman in the South. While working through my research, I actually began to recognize that I not only wanted to stay in the South, but that I was really passionate about teaching in the South and thinking about the impact that social justice education could have on our community at large. I was thrilled when the Isom Center hired me as one of their new Instructional Assistant Professors of Gender Studies this year because I am invested in how social justice work focused directly on our respective communities in the South has the potential to transform them into more inclusive and feminist spaces.

What is your academic background and field of study?

I earned a Ph.D. in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Oregon State University in Corvallis. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, I earned a Masters in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies from Texas Woman’s University, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I have a considerable amount of experience teaching different Gender Studies courses and conducting research by collecting and analyzing ethnographic interview data.

What’s your favorite part of your job? The most challenging?

My favorite part of teaching Gender Studies courses is witnessing students’ “light-bulb moments,” or the moments when they have major realizations about their experiences given the new feminist lens they are learning in class. I absolutely love these moments because I remember when I first had them myself. I am always so excited to see the foundational critical thinking moments when the veil is lifted, and I know that students will never see the world the same again. I also love to see students gain language that allows them to finally understand and explain some of their own feelings or experiences

I would say the most challenging part of social justice education is that everything we teach is so important to our cultural, political, and everyday lives. I feel a huge responsibility to both keep students informed about current events, while simultaneously providing a sense of hope and possibilities for change. I know that learning about systems of oppression can be extremely daunting, so it’s important to balance those realizations with a sense of hope, which can range from learning about the work of social justice activists to encouraging students to participate in activist work that they are passionate about.

What’s something you’ve accomplished or experienced, either personally or professionally, that you’re proud of?

I am proud of a book chapter that I wrote on nonhuman animals for the 2nd edition of Rethinking Women’s and Gender Studies (RWGS II) that will be coming out soon. The reason that it is such a big deal to me to publish in this annotated volume is because I was actually in my first semester of my masters program at Texas Woman’s University, and then again when I began my doctoral program at Oregon State University, when I first read the first edition. I thought the book was so well done and it was obviously so important in WGS programs. So, to have started my graduate studies in Gender Studies by reading the RWGS I, and then to be publishing my own chapter in RWGS II feels pretty amazing and meaningful.

I am also really proud of the research I’ve conducted on Cajun cultural identity and Cajun women. It has been a really empowering process to connect something so personal to me and my family to my professional work.

What are your talents or hobbies outside of work?

When I’m not working, I love reading, painting, and cooking. For years, I have been veganizing traditional Cajun dishes and sharing them with friends and family, and I think I’ve become surprisingly good at it! Sometimes, my partner and I will set up what we call “house Karaoke” and we’ll have a blast belting out tunes in our living room with our neighbors. And then, I have the sweetest, goofiest little rescue dog, named Myla Meaux, whom I absolutely love and adore. She is always by my side, and we enjoy taking walks together, playing fetch, and cuddling.

Who or what motivates you?

It honestly just takes that one student who shares how much they enjoyed the class and how much it has changed their ways of thinking that motivates me.

What’s your idea of the perfect day?

My partner, dog, and I would do something fun but relaxing outside, like maybe grill some veggies or have a picnic at the lake with some wine on a chilly, but sunny day. Later that night, we would watch scary movies outside, eat popcorn, and snuggle on the swing. That or any kind of traveling is a perfect day for me!

Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

I have a big, wild, and fun family, and I am very close to them! I am the fourth out of the five kids in my family. My research interests include Cajun feminism, Southern Studies, Food Studies, and memory studies. I strongly encourage everyone to take a Gender Studies course! It’ll change your life!