Profile
Biography
Jesse Sopher is an award-winning scholar and educator known for his expertise in queer theory and literature. With over a decade of experience teaching at institutions such as Ball State University and Indiana University Kokomo, he now teaches a wide range of English courses at Ivy Tech Community College. In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Sopher also consults with educational technology companies and other institutions to develop resources that help students and clients improve their literacy, literary comprehension, and analytical skills. With scholarship and research that focuses on queer literary narratives, sexology, and the development of modern queer communities, Sopher is a dedicated academic committed to exploring the intersections of literature, education, and queer culture.
He is a proud first-generation college graduate.
About Jesse
The first-ever episode of Power Rangers debuted on my 5th birthday. Coincidentally, Barney was in attendance at my party. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s true: I peaked really early in life.
In a former life, I wrote about online culture, technology, and other geeky things for a number of publications, web shows, and podcasts, including the International Business Times, USA Today, LAPTOP Magazine, GeekBeat.TV, WebBeat.TV, and more. While I still love technology and geek culture, my career shifted gears as I completed my bachelor’s degree and began graduate school (more on that below).
Nowadays, I teach English – everything from developmental English and first-year comp to literature and literary studies courses — at Ivy Tech Community College. I also consult as an education and literature expert for educational technology companies and other institutions, where I help develop resources designed to aid students in literary comprehension and analysis. Previously, I taught literature, research, writing, and rhetoric courses at Ball State University and Indiana University Kokomo.
Professional Background
I am a generalist in English studies with expertise in queer theory and literature, with a particular emphasis on late 19th and 20th century American literature. In addition to my literary studies, I have also completed coursework and research in Rhetoric and Composition, as well as practical pedagogies and higher education. Over the last ten years, I have designed taught courses in literature, writing, rhetoric, and research.
I received my master’s in Liberal Studies, an interdisciplinary degree with concentrations in English Literature and Higher Education, from Indiana University Kokomo. My thesis examines LGBTQ narratives in the so-called golden age of queer television. I also received my undergraduate degree in English from IU Kokomo, and my senior research project explored the ’90s feminist ideology of ‘girl power‘ as it is represented in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I completed my doctoral coursework at Ball State University. My research focused on the influence of sexology on the development of the modern queer community. Prior to the rise of modern sexology, there was quite literally no language through which queer people could identify themselves. As researchers began to theorize and write about queerness, a scientific discourse began to develop, and activist writers who had access to these writings began to embed them in their texts. My research examines how the rise of sexology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries fundamentally influenced the establishment of queer communities as we know them today.
I am a proud first-generation college graduate.