Jennie Klein is an art historian who writes on contemporary art, performance art and the intersection of gender and visual culture. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in 1998.

Dr. Klein is presently completing two book projects. The first Responding to Site and co-edited with Dr. Natalie Loveless and under contract with Intellect Press, is an edited collection on the work of the artist Marilyn Arsem. It will be available in Spring 2020. The second, Assuming the Ecosexual Position, under contract with the University of Minnesota Press, is a compiliation of the work and writing of Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth Stephens. Dr. Klein has published in PAJ, Frontiers, Journal of Lesbian Studies, Feminist Studies, N. Paradoxa, ArtPulse, Art Papers, New Art Examiner, Genders, and Afterimage. Dr. Klein also has a blog: “Writing On Performance” http://jenniekleinperformancewriting.blogspot.com/.

Dr. Klein teaches courses on contemporary art and theory, performance art and theory, and the intersection of gender and art. In addition to these courses, she serves as the Director of Studies for the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University.

Recent Research Projects

Editor, along with Myrel Chernick. The M Word: Real Mothers in Contemporary Art. Demeter Press, 2011.

Editor, along with Deirdre Heddon. Histories and Practices of Live Art. Under contract with Palgrave.2012.

Editor. Letters From Linda M. Montano. London: Routledge, 2005

“Performing the Canon: Performance Art and the Changing Canon of Art History,” Raising the Contemporary Canon, Ruth Iskin, ed. (Routledge) 2017  

“Sustainable Practices on the U.S./Mexico border: InSITE, Intervention, and Precarious Communities.” Natalie Alvarez and Keron Zaiontz, editors. Palgrave. (Under Contract). 2019.

“Endurance Performance,” Reading Contemporary Performance: Theatricality Across Genres. Meiling Cheng and Gabrielle H. Cody, editors. New York and London: Routledge, 2016.

Co-authored with Kris Grey. “Trans* feminism: fragmenting and re-reading the history of art through a Trans* perspective,” Otherwise: Imagining queer feminist art histories, Amelia Jones and Erin Silver, editors. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016.

"Performing Singapore." PAJ: A Journal Of Performance And Art no. 1 (2016)

"Social practice then and now." PAJ: A Journal Of Performance And Art no. 2 (2015)

Classes Being Taught

The Representation of Gender in Art and Visual Culture, Contemporary Art, Photo History, 20th Century Art, Performance Art and Theory, and the Art History Survey.

Educational Background

B.A. Art History Rutgers University M.A. Art History Northwestern University Ph.D. Art History University of Southern California