Jennifer Bess

Jennifer Bess is an Associate Professor of Peace Studies at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her Ph.D. in Early Modern English literature from the Catholic University of America in 1995, and has since become a pivotal figure in community-based learning and Indigenous historiography.

• Education: Ph.D. (1995), Catholic University of America; M.A. (1989), American University; B.A. (1986), Marietta College

Her research focuses on Native American border-crossings and resistance to hegemony, particularly during the Spanish-American War era. She examines how Indigenous mobility challenged U.S. territorial control and influenced federal policy.

Key publication themes include Indigenous sovereignty, agricultural transformation in the Southwest, boarding school resistance, and postcolonial literary analysis. Her work spans interdisciplinary fields from history to cultural studies.

Scientific Awards

• 2025: Honorable mention, Judith Lee Ridge Prize (Western Association for Women Historians)
• 2016: James Madison Prize for federal government history articles

Bess teaches courses like International Conflict Analysis and Collaboration for Justice, integrating history and literature to explore power dynamics. She serves as a faculty member in the Center for Geographies of Justice.