Jennifer Lynn Stoever

Jennifer Lynn Stoever is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric at Binghamton University, where she has established herself as a leading scholar in sound studies and race theory. She is also the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sounding Out!: The Sound Studies Blog, a prominent platform for sound scholarship.

Her educational background includes a PhD and MA from the University of Southern California and a BA from the University of California-Riverside.

Stoever's research focuses on the intersection of sound, race, and American culture, with particular attention to how listening practices reinforce racial hierarchies. Her work spans African American literature, 20th century American studies, popular music, and digital humanities, with significant contributions to understanding the sonic dimensions of racial formation in America. She examines how sound functions as a mechanism of social control while also serving as a site of resistance and cultural production within marginalized communities.

Her publications reveal a consistent trajectory examining the politics of listening, with her seminal 2016 monograph The Sonic Color-line establishing foundational concepts in the field. Her more recent work, including the forthcoming chapter on women's role in hip hop's emergence, demonstrates an evolving focus on gendered experiences within sonic cultures.

• Honorable Mention; Harpur College Graduate Teaching Award (2017)
• Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Fellowship; Binghamton University (2017 and 2013)
• Engaged Teaching Fellow; Binghamton Center for Civic Engagement (2015)
• SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2014)

Stoever has secured significant research funding including an NEH grant for her project on women's role in the birth of hip hop, demonstrating her ability to attract major external funding. Her work with the Binghamton Center for Civic Engagement highlights her commitment to community-engaged scholarship. As Co-Founder of Sounding Out!, she has created an important digital platform that fosters interdisciplinary dialogue about sound across academic and public spheres, supporting emerging scholars and public-facing sound scholarship.