Research Area(s)
- Indigenous North American literatures
- Indigenous literary activism
- Indigenous literature and the law
- Indigenous theatre and drama
- Western American literature
- Nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature
- Multi-ethnic literatures of the United States
- Literary forms and genres
About me
Jenna Hunnef is a settler scholar with research and teaching specializations in Indigenous literatures of Turtle Island, and nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature with a regional focus on the American West. Current research projects include a co-authored book on Cherokee Nation writing in the long allotment era and essays on Indigenous literary production during the modernist period. Her work has appeared in such venues as Studies in American Indian Literatures, Western American Literature, and Canadian Review of American Studies. She welcomes supervision inquiries from prospective undergraduate honours, M.A., or Ph.D. students who are interested in pursuing research related to Indigenous North American literatures, nineteenth- and/or twentieth-century American prose, literature of the North American west, law and literature, or genre fiction.
Professional Service & Roles:
President, Canadian Association for American Studies, 2022-present
Editorial Board Member, Studies in American Indian Literatures, 2022-present
Secretary, Indigenous Literary Studies Association, 2021-present
Executive Committee Member, Western Literature Association, 2021-present
Advisory Board Member, Saskatchewan Ânskohk Writers Circle, Inc., 2020-present
Publications
Book Chapters
"Henry Starr's Outlaw Modernism." Routledge Handbook of North American Indigenous Modernisms, edited by Kirby Brown, Stephen Ross, and Alana Sayers, Routledge, 2022, pp. 216-27.
“Breaking Bad While Baking Bread: The Cereal Politics of Belle Starr’s Outlaw Reputation.” Food and Feast in Modern Outlaw Tales, edited by Alexander L. Kaufman and Penny Vlagopolous, Routledge, 2019, pp. 81-100.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
“Alternative Histories of the Old Indian Territory: John Milton Oskison’s Outlaw Hypotheses.” Western American Literature, vol. 53, no. 3, Fall 2018, pp. 339-71.
“Old Song, Rough Music: The Shivoree Politics of Lynn Riggs’s Green Grow the Lilacs.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 28, no. 3, Fall 2016, pp. 1-22.
Book Reviews & Book Review Essays
“Sovereignty Serving Selves.” Canadian Review of American Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, Summer 2018, pp. 277-87.
Review of Finding a Way to the Heart: Feminist Writings on Aboriginal and Women’s History in Canada, edited by Robin Jarvis Brownlie and Valerie J. Korinek, U of Manitoba P, 2012. Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 26, no. 4, Winter 2014, pp. 85-9.
Teaching & Supervision
2022-2023
ENG113 Reading Narrative (ISAP Program)
ENG242 Indigenous Storytelling of the Prairies
ENG335 The Emergence of Indigenous Literatures in Canada
ENG811 Indigenous Literatures in Conversation with Modernism/Modernity
Courses Previously Taught
ENG113 Reading Narrative (ISAP Program)
ENG242 Indigenous Storytelling of the Prairies
ENG335 The Emergence of Indigenous Literatures in Canada
ENG338 Contemporary North American Indigenous Literatures
ENG464 Topics in 20th-Century American Literature: Time, Technology, and Race
ENG803 Indigenous Literary History and the Politics of Form
Research
19th century 20th century American Studies American literature and culture Critical Indigenous Studies Genre fiction Indigenous North American literatures Law and literature
Education & Training
Ph.D., University of Toronto
M.A., University of Western Ontario
B.A., University of Western Ontario