Dr. Jennifer K. Wesely
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice (Ph.D. Arizona State University), MSCJ Graduate Director
I received my Ph.D. in 2001 from the School of Justice Studies at Arizona State University. Before joining the faculty at UNF, I was a visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Central Florida. I have taught graduate and undergraduate courses about domestic violence, both general (Family Violence) and specific (Elder Abuse and Neglect) as well as other courses ranging from Race, Class and Gender to the Sociology of Law and Criminology. In terms of my research, several aspects revolve around gender, inequality, and justice, particularly regarding marginalized groups like domestic violence victims, sex workers, and the homeless. Much of my work is qualitative, since I feel techniques like in-depth interviewing and focus groups are a compelling and interesting way to gather information.
For the past two years I have been a Co-Principal Investigator on a grant awarded by the NIJ concerning women's experiences of violence and homelessness in Florida. Data were derived from homelessness centers in four major metropolitan areas in the state, including Jacksonville. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are utilized for this project, and my latest research writing is based on my in-depth interviews with homeless women involved in the study. Other recent publications are drawn from my research with female exotic dancers. In this work, I locate each individual's negotiations of power and identity within larger structural constructs of inequality and injustice, while also examining institutional responses, like that of the criminal justice system.
In pursuing social justice, I like to be involved with university groups and community agencies, and I look forward to fostering these relationships at UNF and in Jacksonville. Prior to joining UNF, I conducted a number of focus groups in service to both the Orlando Coalition for the Homeless and Harbor House, the Orlando domestic violence shelter, summarizing the Harbor House results in a Facilities and Services Use Report the agency requested. I also taught graduate domestic violence courses at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and conducted a 40-hour domestic violence training for this facility. From this community work and teaching, I was able to create relationships that have facilitated my research about domestic violence victims who work in law enforcement.
Recent Publications:
- 2009
- Wesely, Jennifer K. and Wright, James D. From the inside out: Efforts by homeless women to disrupt cycles of violence and crime. Women & Criminal Justice 19(3), 217-234.
- 2009
- Wesely, Jennifer K. "Mom said we had a money-maker:" Sexualization and survival contexts among homesless women. Symbolic Interaction 32(2), 91-105.
- 2006
- Wesely, Jennifer K. Considering the context of women's violence: Gender, lived experiences and cumulative victimization Feminist Criminology, 1(4),303-328
- 2006
- Wesely, Jennifer K. Negotiating myself: The impact of studying female exotic dancers on a feminist researcher. Qualitative Inquiry, 12 (1), 146-162.
- 2005
- Wesely, Jennifer K. and Wright, James D. The pertinence of partners: Examining intersections between women's homelessness and their adult relationships. American Behavioral Scientist 48, 1082-1101.
- 2004
- Wesely, Jennifer K. and Gaarder, Emily. The gendered nature of the urban outdoors: Women negotiating fear of violence. Gender & Society 18, 645-663.
- 2003
- Wesely, Jennifer K. Exotic dancing and the negotiation of identity: The multiple uses of body technologies. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 32 (6), 643-669.
- 2003
- Wesely, Jennifer K. "Where am I going to stop?": Exotic dancing, fluid body boundaries, and the effects on identity. Deviant Behavior, 24 (5), 483-503.
- 2002
- Wesely, Jennifer K. Growing up sexualized: Issues of power and violence in the childhood and adult lives of female exotic dancers. Violence Against Women, 8, 1182-1207.
- 2001
- Wesely, Jennifer K. Negotiating gender: Bodybuilding and the natural/unnatural continuum. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18 (2), 162-180.
- 2000
- Wesely, Jennifer K., Allison, Maria T. & Schneider, Ingrid E. The lived body experience of domestic violence survivors: An interrogation of female identity. Women's Studies International Forum, 23, 211-222.
- 2008
- Wesely, Jennifer K. "Sex Work." Battleground: Women and Gender, Vol. 2. Edited by Amy Lind and Stephanie Brzuzy (pp. 540-549). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.
- 2007
- Jasinski, Jana, Wesely, Jennifer K., Mustaine, Elizabeth & Wright, James D. "Childhood victimization as a precursor to violence among adult homeless women." Child Poverty in America. Edited by David Maume & Barbara Arrighi (pp. 182-195). Westport, CT: Praeger.
- 2005
- Wesely, Jennifer K. "Where am I going to stop?" Readings In Deviant Behavior, 4th Edition. Edited by Thomas Calhoun and Alex Thio (pp. 207-210). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.