Briona Simone Jones joins the College as an Assistant Professor in English specializing in African American literature, Feminist and Queer Theory, and Black Queer studies.

With a Ph.D. in English and Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from Michigan State University, Jones has published a collection of Black Lesbian writings titled Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought, the most comprehensive anthology centering Black Lesbian thought to date. During her research, Jones developed the concept of “Black Lesbian Aesthetics” to describe the heretical shift in self-definition that transpired after the groundbreaking formation of the Combahee River Collective in 1974.

Jones’s teaching philosophy includes centering the knowledge and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Queer people of color and other underrepresented students.