Jennifer M. Bean

Jennifer M. Bean is the Robert Jolin Osborne Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Washington, with an adjunct appointment in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin (1998). Her work focuses on silent cinema, gender studies, and queer theory, with notable publications including Silent Cinema and the Politics of Space and Flickers of Desire. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Feminist Media Histories.

Her research emphasizes film preservation, advising organizations like the Women Film Pioneers Project and National Film Preservation Foundation. She contributes voice-overs for restored silent films, featured in DVDs like Cinema's First Nasty Women. At UW, she teaches feminist/queer theory, video essay production, and media historiography.

Bean’s awards include the Katherine Singer Kovacs essay award and a 2023-24 NEH fellowship. Her grants and fellowships reflect sustained engagement with early cinema’s cultural and political dimensions.