Jennifer Burton

1990 Alumna

Cottage: Waterfall

BIO: Jennifer Burton is a Professor of the Practice at Tufts University and helms the independent film company Five Sisters Productions. Her research and work as a filmmaker share a focus on content by and about diverse women.  Her films include Origin of the Species (a feature documentary exploring how robots are already disrupting our ethical, cultural, and social lives, directed by Abby Child). Kings, Queens, & In-Betweens (a feature documentary on gender, identity, and drag), The Happiest Day of His Life (MTV/Logo) and Manna From Heaven(MGM/SONY). Corporate projects include the "Your Ford Story" campaign of mini-documentary commercials for Ford Motor Company. Working with Tufts student filmmakers, she has produced the Half the History project, a series of short films on women in American history, and Old Guy, a comedic take on ageism in the media. Her publications include Call and Response: Key Debates in African American Studies (W. W. Norton), co-edited with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and The Prize Plays and Other One-Acts: Zora Neale Hurston, Eulalie Spence, Marita Bonner, and Others (Macmillan/G.K. Hall). Burton earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in English and American Literature, writing her dissertation on hope in American literature and film.