History of photography, material culture, performance studies
Jesse studies twentieth-century American photography with particular interest in
documentary and vernacular practices. Her dissertation “Photography’s Other
Workshops: Crafting Community Photojournalism in American High Schools, 1967-
1989” considers student documentary publications as alternative practices. She
explores how students, teachers, and community members tested out strategies for
overtly collaborative and deeply localized photojournalism in the 1970s and ‘80s.
As an undergraduate, Jesse studied American studies and photographic practice at
Colby College. She is in residence at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a
predoctoral fellow through January 2026.