Jennifer Thorup Birkett

Jenny Birkett is a recent English PhD graduate from Notre Dame. As a student, Jenny was the recipient of Notre Dame's Presidential Fellowship and a Gender Studies Minor. She taught multiple courses including Writing and Rhetoric, Intro to Film, and Shakespeare and Performance. Working under the direction of Peter Holland, Jenny wrote a dissertation titled "Early Modern Drama and Terms of Endearment," and is currently turning that project into a book manuscript. As a scholar, Jenny characteristically magnifies quirky details and contradictions in order to arrive at new performative opportunities and scholarly insights. Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah, Jenny has a background in theatre and vocal performance. From spending many summers attending the Utah Shakespeare Festival, directing multiple productions in high school, to leading a London Theatre Study Abroad as a graduate student at BYU, Jenny brings a deep passion for live theatre -- especially Shakespeare.