Jennifer L. Hayes

Jennifer L. Hayes is an Assistant Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Tennessee State University in Nashville Tennessee, which is an HBCU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in rhetoric and writing from The University of Tennessee. She earned her master’s degree from Tennessee State University, and she earned her doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University. Her doctoral work focused on African American women writers and Black feminist criticism. Her agenda as a professor is to equip students with skills to critically engage diversity within and outside the classroom. At the center of her teaching philosophy, she advocates the development of rhetorical strategies in students’ academic, personal, and professional writing situations. She introduces students to various resources on campus, emphasizes the connection between reading and writing, and encourages digital literacy by incorporating multimodal projects and activities. Jennifer strives to ensure that her students are equipped to consider the political issues impacting their lives by creating assignments and assessments that compel critical thinking and problem-solving strategies. Her specialization is in contemporary African American women’s literature, and her current scholarship analyzes multicultural communities in the works of contemporary dramatists such as Lynn Nottage and Kia Corthron. Additionally, Jennifer participates in several service activities on campus that promote student success. She currently serves as the Retention and Recruitment chair for Languages, Literature, and Philosophy, as a member of the Technology Committee, and as a general education tutor within the Tiger Tutoring program.