Jess Arnett

(they/them/theirs)

  • Assistant Professor of Comparative American Studies and Environmental Studies

Areas of Study

Biography

Jessica Arnett is an assistant professor of comparative American studies and environmental studies, researching and teaching in the fields of Native American and Indigenous studies, U.S. history, environmental history, and Alaska Native studies. They are the author “Unsettled Rights in Territorial Alaska: Native Land, Sovereignty, and Citizenship from the Indian Reorganization Act to Termination,” published in Western Historical Quarterly (Autumn, 2017), which was awarded the Bert and Janet Fireman Award. Their current book project, entitled Settler Imperialism: Indigenous Nationhood, U.S. Empire, and Law in Alaska, examines Alaska Native land and sovereignty movements in the context of the shift from U.S. westward expansion to non-contiguous imperial possessory claims. 

Fall 2024

Surviving America: Introduction to Native Studies — CAST 223
Surviving America: Introduction to Native Studies — ENVS 223
Indigenous Activism, Environmental Justice, and the State — CAST 339
Indigenous Activism, Environmental Justice, and the State — ENVS 339

Spring 2025

Introduction to Comparative American Studies — CAST 100
Alaska Natives and the Environment — CAST 237
Alaska Natives and the Environment — ENVS 237