Jenna Vinson

Department of English (978) 934-4655
University of Massachusetts Lowell jenna_vinson@uml.edu
61 Wilder Street jennavinson.com
Lowell, MA 01854

EDUCATION
PhD Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English
University of Arizona, May 2013
Minor in Gender and Women’s Studies

Dissertation: “Teenage Mothers as Rhetors and Rhetoric: An Analysis of
Embodied Exigence and Constrained Agency”
Drs. Adela C. Licona (Chair), Amy Kimme Hea, and Sally Stevens
Comprehensive Exams, Pass with Distinction, Oct. 2010

MA Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English
University of Arizona, Dec. 2008

BA English and Creative Writing
University of Arizona, May 2006
Summa Cum Laude

Research and Teaching Interests: Visual Rhetoric, Counter-narratives, Feminist Theory and
Pedagogy, Motherhood Studies, Embodied Rhetoric, Professional Writing, Action-Oriented
Research and Service Learning

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
2013-Present Assistant Professor of English
University of Massachusetts Lowell

2010-2013 Crossroads Collaborative Scholar
University of Arizona
Selected to participate as a funded scholar on this Ford Foundation
interdisciplinary grant. Collaborated on qualitative, quantitative, and policy-
relevant studies of youth, sexuality, health, and rights in Arizona.

2006-2013 Graduate Associate in Teaching
University of Arizona

PUBLICATIONS
Book
Vinson, Jenna. Embodying the Problem: The Persuasive Power of the Teen Mother. Rutgers
UP, 2017. 
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Vinson, Jenna, and Sally Stevens. “Preventing Pregnancy OR Supporting Students? Learning
from the Stories of Young Mothers.” Sexuality Research and Social Policy, vol. 11, no. 4,
Dec. 2014, pp. 322-36, doi: 10.1007/s13178-014-0157-6.

Stevens, Sally, Elisabeth Morgan-Thompson, Jenna Vinson, Alison Greene, Claudia Powell,
Adela Licona, and Stephen Russell. “Informing Sexuality Education through Youth-
Generated Anonymous Questions.” Sex Education: Sexuality, Society, and Learning,
vol. 13, no. 1, Aug. 2013, pp. S84-S90.

Vinson, Jenna. “Covering National Concerns about Teenage Pregnancy: A Visual Rhetorical
Analysis of Images of the Pregnant Teenage Body.” Feminist Formations, vol. 24, no. 2,
2012, pp. 140-62.

Vinson, Jenna. “Spatial Shock: Space, Place, and the Politics of Representation.” Spatial Praxis.
Special issue of Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, vol. 16, no.
3, 2012, http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/16.3/praxis/hea-et-al/vinson/index.html.

Book Chapters
Vinson, Jenna, and Sally Stevens. “I Was the One Who Opened My Legs: The Tropes and
Consequences of Blaming Pregnant and Mothering Teens.” Mother-Blame Game, edited
by Vanessa Reimer and Sarah Sahagian, Demeter Press, 2015, pp. 82-104.

Vinson, Jenna. “More Than Just a Website for Young Mamas: Girl-Mom Members’ Strategies
for Countering the Dominant Perception of Teen Motherhood.” Motherhood Online,
edited by Michelle Moravec. Cambridge Scholars, 2011, pp. 98-116.

Vinson, Jenna. “Mothers & More: Fighting ‘Invisimomibility’ to Make Mothering Count.” 21st
Century Motherhood Movement, edited by Andrea O’Reilly, Demeter Press, 2011, pp.
362-472.

Reviews
Vinson, Jenna. Review of Zines in Third Space: Radical Cooperation and Borderlands Rhetoric
by Adela C. Licona. Community Literacy Journal, vol. 9, no. 1, 2014, pp. 92-5.

Vinson, Jenna. Review of Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself: Latina Girls and Sexual Identity by
Lorena Garcia. Community Literacy Journal, vol. 8, no.1, 2013, pp.127-30.

Research Briefs
Stevens, Sally, Leah S. Stauber, Jenna Vinson, and the Crossroads Collaborative. “Sexuality
Education: Innovating in Sexual Health Education.” Crossroads Connections, vol. 2, no.
2, 2013, https://mcclellandinstitute.arizona.edu/publications.

Vinson, Jenna. “Busting Myths: Confronting Assumptions about Teenage Pregnancy and
Motherhood.” Crossroads Connections vol. 2, no.1, 2013,
https://mcclellandinstitute.arizona.edu/publications.

Vinson Curriculum Vitae 2 
ACADEMIC AWARDS
UMass Lowell’s Chancellor’s 2020 Community Impact Grant, 2018 ($3,000),
co-recipient with Dr. Urmitapa Dutta (Psychology Dept)
Centennial Achievement Award for Doctoral Student, 2012 ($500)
Tilly Warnock Fellowship, 2012 ($3,000)
Graduate College Fellowship, 2006 ($3,000)
Richard A. Harvill Fellowship, 2006 ($12,000)

TRAVEL GRANTS
Ford Foundation Funding for Sexuality Research Grantee Convening, 2012 ($1,060)
Crossroads Collaborative Travel Grant, 2012 ($440)
Women’s Studies Advisory Council Travel Grant, 2012 ($100)
Graduate Professional Student Council Travel Grant, 2012 ($500)
Crossroads Collaborative Travel Grant, 2011 ($690)
Women’s Studies Advisory Council Travel Grant, 2009 ($400)
Graduate Professional Student Council Travel Grant, 2010 ($450)

CONFERENCES
National and International Conference Presentations
“Subverting ‘Teen Pregnancy’: New Action and Research on the Politics of Young Pregnancy
and Parenthood” (Roundtable). National Women’s Studies Association Conference.
Atlanta, GA. Nov. 2018.
“Confronting the Stranger on the Street: Exploring Everyday Public Spaces as Rhetorical
Arenas for Marginalized Teen Mothers.” International Society for the History of Rhetoric
Conference. United Kingdom. July 2017.
“Cultivating a Collection of Journalistic Photographs for Analysis: The Nitty-Gritty of Visual
Rhetorical Research in Composition Studies.” Conference on College Composition and
Communication. Portland, OR. Mar. 2017.
“Changing Rhetorics of Teen Parenthood: The Transformational Tactics of the #NoTeenShame
Campaign.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Atlanta, GA. May 2016.
“Portraying Precarious Bodies: A Visual Rhetorical Analysis of Journalistic Photographs of the
Teenage Pregnancy ‘Crisis.’” National Women’s Studies Association Conference.
Milwaukee, WI. Nov. 2015.
“Mamas Making Waves: Rhetorics of Resistance in the #NoTeenShame Social Media
Campaign.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Phoenix, AZ. Oct. 2015.
“‘I Was the One Who Opened My Legs’: Lessons Women Learn from the Cultural Discourse of
Teen Pregnancy Prevention” (Panel Presentation) and “Community Action Research
Collaboration at the Crossroads of Literacies and Sexualities” (Roundtable). International
Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society Conference. Dublin, Ireland.
June 2015.
“The Risks and Rewards of Public Writing, Pedagogy, and Activism for Junior Faculty in

Vinson Curriculum Vitae 3 
Rhetoric and Composition.” Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Tampa, FL. Mar. 2015.
“Building a Border between Children and Adults: The Social Construction and Rhetorical
Function of Adolescence.” Rhetoric Society of American Conference. San Antonio, TX.
May 2014.
“(Teen) Mama Knows Best?: The Role of Experts, Editors, and Experimental Knowledge in
Testimonies about Teenage Pregnancy.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Palo
Alto, CA. Sept. 2013.
“Putting Feminist Rhetorical Analysis to Public Use: Methods and Ethical Implications of
Community Research Briefs.” Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Las Vegas, NV. Mar. 2013.
“Do You Know Who the Father Is?: A Rhetorical Analysis of Confrontations Between Strangers
and Teenage Mothers.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Philadelphia, PA. May
2012.
“Embodied Exigence: Teenage Pregnancy as Kairotic for Rhetorical Exchange.” Conference on
College Composition and Communication. St. Louis, MO. Mar. 2012.
“Teenage Mom Counter-Narratives Within and Without the Web: Theorizing Web-Based
Feminist Narrative Analysis.” Feminism(s) & Rhetoric(s) Conference. Mankato, MN.
Oct. 2011.
“Responding to Community Exigencies: Resistance as Seizing Kairotic Moments for Writing
and Public Action.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Atlanta,
GA. Apr. 2011.
“Beyond the Seminar Paper: Supporting Feminist Activist Rhetoric in Graduate Courses.” 20th
Anniversary Feminist Workshop Retrospective. Conference on College Composition and
Communication. Atlanta, GA. Apr. 2011.
“The Potentials and Paradoxes of Teenage Mother Narratives as Counter-Rhetorics.” National
Women’s Studies Association Conference. Denver, CO. Nov. 2010.
“Critiquing the Move: The Embodied Exigence of the Pregnant Teen Mother and the
Disembodied Scholar.” Feminism(s) & Rhetoric(s) Conference. Lansing, MI. Oct. 2009.
“Surveilling Women’s Bodies: What Does the Rhetoric Against Teenage Pregnancy Do for
Women?” Feminism(s) & Rhetoric(s) Conference. Little Rock, AR. Oct. 2007.

Regional Conference Presentations
“Observing Place or Strolling Space?: The Potentials of ‘Strolling’ as an Analytical Practice.”
Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference: Places. Tempe, AZ. Oct. 2011.
“Confronting Social Change and Agency in Service-Learning” (Roundtable). Western States
Rhetoric and Literacy Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. Oct. 2009.
“Countering Images of Teen Mothers in the Media: Rhetorical Strategies of Resistance on Girl-

Vinson Curriculum Vitae 4 
Mom.com.” Southwest Texas Popular/America Cultural Conference. Albuquerque, NM.
Feb. 2009.
“Villainous Experts vs. Magical Strippers: Investigating the Rhetorical Strategies of Teen
Mothers’ Counter-Narratives.” New Directions in Critical Theory Conference. Tucson,
AZ. Apr. 2007.
“From Christian Morality to Hyper-sexuality: Disney’s Adaptation of The Little Mermaid.”
Southwest Texas Popular/America Cultural Conference. Albuquerque, NM. Feb. 2007.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Keynotes
“Changing the Culture: Moving from Stigma to Support in Working with Young Families.” Keynote
Presentation for Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Grand Rounds. Boston, MA. Mar. 2018.

“Defining Our Successes Means Defining Our Obstacles.” Keynote Presentation at Summit for Teen
Empowerment and Parenting Success. Northeastern University. Boston, MA. July 2015.

“Re-Producing Pathologies: The Problems with the Stories We Tell about Teen Moms in
Pregnancy Prevention Campaigns.” Invited Presentation for Baruch College Public
Affairs Faculty Research Seminar. New York, NY. Apr. 2014.

“Youth-Centered Action Research: Fostering an Inclusive Civil Discourse.” Keynote
Presentation at New Start Academic Conference with Londie Martin. Tucson, AZ. July
2011.

Guest Lectures
“Activist Scholarship.” Invited Participant in Interdisciplinary Roundtable Panel Discussion for Dr.
Urmitapa Dutta’s Community Psychology Graduate Course. UMass Lowell. Oct. 2017.

“Busting Myths about Teenage Pregnancy.” Special Presentation for Dr. Maureen Kelly’s
Adolescent Development Course in Family Studies. University of Arizona. Mar. 2011.

“Teen Moms in the Media: Gender, Race, and Class Stereotypes.” Special Presentation for Dr.
Marissa Juarez’s Freshman Composition Course. University of Arizona. June 2010.

INVITED COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
“How to be an Effective Teen Parent Ally.” Workshop for nonprofit and youth-organization
representatives attending the Annual Summit for Teen Empowerment and Parenting
Success (STEPS). Simmons College. June 2017.

“Busting Myths about Teenage Pregnancy and Responding to Street Harassment” Workshop for
young parents at STEPS. Simmons College. July 2016.

“‘Aren’t You Too Young to Be a Parent?’ Dealing with Confrontational Strangers and the Myths
of Teenage Pregnancy.” Workshop for young parents at STEPS, with young parent

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ambassador Louisha Laguerre. Northeastern University. July 2015.

“How to Write the College Application Essay.” Writing workshop for Lowell High School
students in the Gear Up Program, with Dr. Matthew Hurwitz. July 2014 and July 2015.

“How to Write a Resume.” Workshop at Teen Outreach Pregnancy Services. Tucson, AZ. Jan.
2012.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Visual Rhetoric (5 sections)
Upper-division course that introduces English majors to the theory and practice of visual
communication. Students learn to critically read images as arguments, exploring whether
and how visual representations persuade audiences and communicate culturally specific
meanings about race, gender, class, sexuality, age, nationality, and difference.
Writing about Women (2 sections)
Upper-division course that prepares students to write about women with a critical
understanding of how sexist oppression has limited women as writers, how cultural
representations of women may perpetuate gendered stereotypes, and how women have
used language to creatively challenge gendered norms and inequalities. Students practice
critical reflection, textual analysis, and writing for target audiences beyond the classroom.
In spring 2017, the course included a special focus on (re)writing women into history for
an audience of Lowell High School students.
Rhetoric(s) of Social Movements: Writing for Social Change (2 sections)
Upper-division course that examines the communication strategies used to build social
movements and agitate for social change. Students are introduced to social movement
studies and analyze primary documents from movements in the 1960s in order to
ultimately evaluate the persuasive tactics of contemporary social movements. Special
attention is paid to the role journalists and other writers play in promoting or rejecting
social change.
Theories of Rhetoric and Composition (3 sections)
Upper-division course that introduces English majors to the history, theories, and
discourse conventions of the field of rhetoric and composition. In this discussion-based
course, students write analytical papers, facilitate class discussion, share research from
the field, and write a final research paper on a topic of their choice.
Introduction to Professional Writing (3 sections)
Introduces students to journalism, technical writing, and business communication while
emphasizing the importance of rhetorical theory and genre research. All assignments call
for students to write for public audiences beyond the classroom, including one service-
learning project.
Personal and Reflective Writing (1 section)
Upper-division course for English majors that focuses on personal writing genres,
reflective writing practices, and the socio-political implications of making the personal
public. Students write, workshop, and revise a series of essays based on their lived
experiences while keeping track of their growth and setbacks as a writer by writing daily
in a journal.

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Principles of Technical Writing (2 sections)
Upper-division course focused on rhetorical strategies and communications technologies
appropriate to technical writing situations. Students plan, create, and user-test projects
such as technical documentations, resumes, proposals, reports, websites, and other
genres as they work with local community non-profits on real technical writing needs.
First-Year Composition II: Rhetorical Analysis and Research (1 section)
Assignments in this course emphasized classical rhetorical and gender analysis; research;
public argument; reflection; and revision. Students examined community-based
controversies and composed in multiple modes and genres.

University of Arizona
Business Writing (2 sections)
Students studied workplace practices, business communications, and writing on behalf of
an organization through client-based projects and case studies. Assignments included
memos, emails, job search materials, proposals, reports, and promotional documents.
Advanced Composition (4 sections)
Upper-division, writing-intensive course focused on how language shapes personal
experience and community beliefs. Assignments included reflective portfolios, rhetorical
analyses, creative non-fiction essays, public arguments, and blogs. Students participated
in a student-based university writing contest and public reading event.
Technical Writing (1 section)
Compressed 8-week, upper-division course focused on rhetorical strategies and
communications technologies appropriate to technical writing situations. Students created
usability tests, quick reference cards, resumes, proposals, reports, and websites.
Writing Center Internship Course (1 section)
Collaborated with three instructors to team teach students to work at the writing center as
a paid tutor. Assignments and readings emphasized non-hierarchical, collaborative, and
student-initiated approaches to tutoring.
First-Year Composition I: Textual Analysis and Writing (2 sections)
This course focuses on close reading, textual analysis, reflection, and revision. Students
examined issues of identity, social justice, and education while exchanging literacy
narratives about their college experiences with local high school students.
First-Year Composition II: Rhetorical Analysis and Research (6 sections)
Assignments in this course emphasized classical rhetorical, visual-spatial, and gender
analysis; research; public argument; reflection; and revision. Students examined
community-based controversies and composed in multiple modes and genres.
Women and Western Culture (1 section)
Three-week, online course focused on how gender is conceptualized, embodied, and
resisted by women rhetors from the classical Greek period to the present. Assignments
included reading quizzes, discussion board posts, reflective papers, a rhetorical research
project, and a final essay exam.

TEACHING AWARDS and GRANTS
English Department Excellence in Teaching Award, UML, 2016
Award for Innovations in Teaching: Applied and Experiential Learning, UML, 2014
Student/Faculty Interaction Grant, UA, 2010 ($300)

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Writing Program Funds to Foster Collaboration Grant, UA, 2010 ($140)
Student/Faculty Interaction Grant, UA, 2009 ($500)
Writing Program Funds to Foster Collaboration Grant, UA, 2009 ($200)

SERVICE
National
2018 External Reviewer, Rutgers University Press. Reviewed book manuscript for
potential publication.

2017 External Reviewer, Educational Studies: A Journal of the American Educational
Studies Association. Reviewed journal article manuscript for publication.

2016 External Reviewer, MacMillan Learning. Reviewed one textbook.

2015 Panel Discussant, “Mothering from the Margins: Borderlands Mothers
Navigating Boundaries of Socio-Civic Legitimacy and (Counter-)Hegemonic
Authority.” National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Nov. 2015.

2013 External Reviewer, Feminist Formations. Reviewed journal article manuscript for
publication.

2013 External Reviewer, Ashgate Publishing. Reviewed book manuscript and wrote
endorsement for book jacket.

University of Massachusetts Lowell
University
2018 Invited Panelist, Office of Multicultural Affair’s “Leadership Through Service:
Celebrating Women Who Serve” High Tea event. March 22, 2018.

2017-Present Member, Faculty Success Sub-committee of the Transformational Education
Committee working on the university’s 2020 strategic plan.

2017-Present Faculty co-advisor, UML (Student) Parents Club, with Susan Thomson Tripathy

2017-Present Member, Gender Studies Steering Committee

2017-2018 CWW Representative, UML Women’s Day Planning Committee.

2015-2017 Faculty Senator, English Department

2015 Volunteer, Ally Space Program “You Can Play” Tsongas Center athletic event
encouraging pledged support of LGBTQ student athletes

English Department
2017-Present Member, Curriculum Committee

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2014-Present Co-Chair (as of 2015), Assessment Committee

2014-Present Reviewer, Journalism and Professional Writing Concentration Student Awards

2013-Present Member, Experiential Learning Committee

University of Arizona
2013 Member, Rhetoric Composition and Teaching of English (RCTE) Graduate
Admissions Committee.

2008-2013 Founding member, Family Advocacy Coalition for English Students (FACES)
English Graduate Union subcommittee that developed supports for parenting
students on campus.

2008-2010 Mentorship Coordinator, University of Arizona RCTE Program

2009 Event Facilitator for Dr. Vivyan Adair and “The Missing Story of Ourselves”
Responded to campus-community tragedy by facilitating this scholar’s visit to the
University of Arizona with her critically relevant photo-narrative exhibition.
Nominated for a Student Excellence Award for these efforts.

2007-2010 Graduate Student Mentor, University of Arizona

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH
2014-Present Research Associate, UMass Lowell Center for Women and Work

2015, 2014 Volunteer, Teen Parent Lobby Day for MA Alliance on Teenage Pregnancy

2014 Volunteer judge, Middlesex Community College E-Portfolio Showcase

2009-2013 Founding member, Feminist Action Research in Rhetoric (FARR)
Coalition of scholars and activists of public rhetoric who facilitate community
discussions, performances, and events related to urgent social issues in Tucson.

2006-2013 Volunteer, Teen Outreach Pregnancy Services (T.O.P.S.)

2011 Writing Coach, YWCA’s Nuestra Voz Youth Manifesto Writing Jam, May 15th

2007-2009 Service-Learning Coordinator, The Writing Program, University of Arizona
Coordinated Wildcat Writers, a service-learning initiative that gives high school
students an opportunity to learn about college and encourages college students to
get involved in the community.

WRITING PROGRAM ADMINSTRATION
2015, 2014 Summer Writing Placement Administration and Evaluation, UMass Lowell
Facilitated a “mock classroom” and writing placement exam for incoming

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freshman students. Evaluated writing exams to determine student placement into
first-year writing sequence.

2007-2010 Placement Advisor, The Writing Program, University of Arizona
Developed and facilitated first-year composition information sessions during
freshman orientation. Assessed student portfolios for placement review and
advised students on their composition courses.

2008 Graduate Coordinator, The Writing Center, University of Arizona
Trained undergraduate students to work in the writing center as paid tutors. Hired
tutors for online-tutoring project and managed incoming high school student
essays from that project. Monitored the payroll of participating tutors.

2007 Intern, The Writing Program, University of Arizona
Worked with Writing Program Director on outreach projects. Organized
professional development events for local high school teachers and counselors.
Collaborated with the Office of Admission’s Minority Student Recruitment Office
on a community outreach grant that aimed to improve high school students’
college application essays.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Studies Association
Coalition of Feminist Scholars in History of Rhetoric and Composition
Conference on College Composition and Communication
National Council for Teachers of English
National Women’s Studies Association
Rhetoric Society of America

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