Contact Jennifer Manion
Education
B.A. University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. Rutgers University
“This woman had accustomed herself to wear men’s cloaths for several years and passed by the name of Samuel Johnson. She comm[itted] the crime in mens apparel and was tried and convicted and brought to jail in the same” - Prison Sentence Docket, Philadelphia, December, 1799.
Jennifer Manion
Visiting Professor of History
Director of LGBTQ Center
Coordinator of LGBTQ Student Services
Joined Connecticut College: 2006
Specialization:
- Gender and Sexuality
- Women and Social Movements
- Early America
Jennifer first became interested in history as an undergraduate when studying various social movements throughout history, from the British Suffragettes who went on hunger strikes to secure voting rights for women to early Gay Rights Pioneers who picketed Independence Hall in Philadelphia throughout the 1960s.
Her doctoral dissertation, “Women’s Crime and Prison Reform in Early Pennsylvania, 1786-1829” examines the role ideologies of sexuality, gender, and race played in the development of the penitentiary system in the United States.
She has been active in the LGBTQ civil rights movement since the early nineties. At Connecticut College, she oversees the newly established LGBTQ Resource Center, which provides a supportive space, resource library, social events, and educational programming for LGBTQ students. The Center also serves as a resource for the entire campus to learn about issues related to sexuality and gender identity.
She teaches courses on Crime & Punishment in U. S. History and the History of Sexuality.