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,
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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
Please Join Me for “The Bible, Narrative, and Modernity” Symposium, March 26-28, 2015
Since winning a generous grant from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, fellow PhD Candidate Meagan Simpson and I have been working hard to organize the symposium “The Bible, Narrative, and Modernity,” scheduled for March 26-28, 2015 at the University of Notre...
Waiting…
How well do you wait? Sunday marked the beginning of Advent and, once again, I find myself writing Advent post here at Wondering Fair. In the past, I’ve written about the narrative importance of Advent, the traditional observance of Advent, and why people like to rush...
Class, Classification, and Jesus | The 2014 NAVSA Conference in London, ON
The North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA)’s annual conference was held in London, Ontario over the weekend. The conference brought together scholars from around the world to consider the ideas of class and classification in the Victorian period,...