Jenn Freitag

• Ph.D., Speech Communication, Southern Illinois University
• M.A., Communication Studies, University of Northern Iowa
• B.A., Interpersonal Communication, University of Northern Iowa

Dr. Jenn Freitag is a passionate teacher who builds community with students through embodied
learning, dialogue-based communication, creativity, empathy and self-reflexivity. She draws from a
background in performance and public speaking to help students build confidence and skill in their
communication with others, and she invites students into deeper levels of critical thinking through
honest conversations and engagement with complexity.

In her research and writing, Jenn explores power dynamics in relationships, gender and sexuality in
communication, intersectional feminism and dialogue. She has 20+ years of experience engaging
issues of gender violence and cultural difference through various roles as a violence prevention
educator, program administrator and crisis advocate. She has extensive experience working in and
with nonprofit agencies, PreK-12 school districts, college campuses, and law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Most recently, she published Understanding Gender Violence: A Comprehensive Approach, a book that offers paradigm-shifting perspective on the root causes, cultural dynamics, and complexities of gender violence.

• CMM 415: Gender and Communication
• CMM 351: Public Speaking
• CMM 320: Interpersonal Communication
• CMM 315: Intercultural Communication
• CMM 100: Principles of Oral Communication
• SSC 200: Interdisciplinary Introduction to Social Science Research
• WGS 250: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

Book
Understanding Gender Violence: A Comprehensive Approach (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025).

Scholarly Journal Articles
“Critical Communication Pedagogy and Service Learning in a Mixed-Method Communication Research
Course,” with C. Kyle Rudick and Kathryn B. Golsan, Communication Teacher.

“Performing Risk, Catharsis, and Subversion in At the Mercy of Ruin,” Text & Performance Quarterly.

“Dialoguing Adrienne: A Writing-and-Performing Story," Texas Speech Communication Journal.

“Daddy’s Little Girl: A Provocative Feminist Critique of Purity Balls,” Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Research.

“Forum Theatre for Bystanders: A New Model for Gender Violence Prevention” with Karen S. Mitchell, Violence Against Women.

“Bible Beater/Bra Burner” (Performance), Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies.

“The Process and Impact of Ethnodrama: Reflections on Bible Beater/Bra Burner,” Journal of the
Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri.