Jesse Njus

Dr. Jesse Njus is an Assistant Professor of Theatre History at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), part of the School of the Arts. She specializes in medieval theatre, global performance traditions, and religious drama. Her career includes roles at institutions like New York University, Fordham University, and the University of California-Santa Barbara as an ACLS New Faculty Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University under Barbara Newman. Dr. Njus’s research bridges medieval literature and performance studies, focusing on figures like Elisabeth of Spalbeek and Margery Kempe, exploring themes of mysticism, spectatorship, and religious imitatio Christi.

Her work has been published in Church History, Theatre Journal, and Fifteenth-Century Studies, with a co-authored chapter in Food and Theatre on the World Stage. She co-founded the Ask a Medievalist podcast and is editing The Global Middle Ages: Global Drama with Rob Barrett. Dr. Njus has directed productions at VCU and led study abroad programs in Athens, Greece.

Her interdisciplinary approach spans conferences such as MLA, the Medieval Academy of America, and the Society of Dance History Scholars. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on theatre history and global performance practices.