Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes
Writer / Speaker / Professor of English
Welcome…
There’s an old story that begins, “One day, when Jesus was teaching, a lawyer stood up to test him.
“Teacher,” the lawyer asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What does the Law say?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
As an English Professor, that might be my favorite question in the entire Bible.
When Jesus asks the lawyer about his reading of the Law, he is talking about the Torah, the first 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. But most of those books aren’t “laws”… they’re stories. They’re the stories of complicated, broken people and a mysterious God’s unceasing love.
When Jesus asks, “What does the law say” and “How do you read it,” he’s asking questions fit for a literary classroom. He’s suggesting that creative reading is the foundation for living well in the world that God has made. He might even be suggesting that reading well is part of the secret to eternal life.
In this vein, my work centers on how stories shape our imaginations to form lives of justice, grace, and peace. I’m particularly interested in how fiction makes old stories new, be that in the novel’s characterization habits that work to re-enliven Jesus for Victorian readers…or in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan that helps the lawyer re-imagine the law he knows so well.
Interested? Explore the site to learn more about my writing, speaking, and teaching.
grace & peace,
Follow me @
Writer / Speaker / Professor of English Literature
Writer
& the American environmental tradition
Speaker
Jessica makes sense of complexity in ways that are engaging and accessible for all audiences, challenging them to find renewed faith, joy, and wonder in their own experiences.
Professor
With teaching experience in high schools & colleges around the globe, Jessica fosters intellectual engagement & practical understanding through her teaching & course design.
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Room at the Table: Limiting Ourselves to Make Space for Others this Lent
Where we live, its fish-fry season. If you live in the Americas, Europe, or Australia, you might also notice Friday fish-n-chip specials or the filet-o-fish featured at McDonalds. If you were wondering why fish seems so popular in February and March, it’s because this...
Lenten Flooding & Education Outside the Classroom
On February 19th it started raining…and raining…and raining…and raining. Northern Indiana had over six inches in rain in some places. While that’s a fair bit of rain, the situation was exacerbated by about a two-foot snow pack and frozen ground. With the tremendous...
Waiting in the Dark
Happy New Year! Advent, the start of the Christian year, is upon us again. Rather than being a season for shopping and celebrating, Advent creates space for us confront the injustice, evil, and brokenness we see around us with the holy expectation of God’s coming....