Jennifer A. Adler

Dr. Jennifer A. Adler serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of History at East Tennessee State University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences, with joint appointments in Appalachian Studies and Philosophy & Religious Studies. She also coordinates the History Undergraduate Research Honors Program.

Her academic credentials include:

• A.B. in Government, Harvard College (2004, Phi Beta Kappa)
• M.A. in Religion, Vanderbilt University (2012)
• Ph.D. in Religion, Vanderbilt University (2015)

Research centers on American religious history through material culture and sacred geography. She examines how 19th-century Protestants interpreted the Holy Land as a 'material gospel'—a physical archive of divine history—and investigates ritual practices, landscape veneration, and African American religious experiences. Her work bridges theology, anthropology, and historical geography to analyze how physical spaces shape spiritual identity.

As Honors Program Coordinator, she mentors undergraduate researchers in historical methodology. Teaching spans American religious history, world religions, gender studies, and material culture courses that emphasize experiential learning through artifact analysis and site interpretation.