I am a scholar, filmmaker, and sensory ethnographer interested in the relationships between place, travel, and sensory heritage. My short films have screened at FLEX Fest, Big Muddy, and the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival. I have produced sound ethnographies of New York City and South Dakota’s Black Hills and have written articles for Contemporary Music Review, Ethnoscripts, and Mediapolis. I have a Master’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Film, both from the University of Amsterdam. I earned my PhD with distinction from the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University in 2015. I co-directed the Collaborative Studio at UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art in 2017 and was a Fejos Fellow in Ethnographic Film with the Wenner-Gren Foundation in 2018. In 2024, I earned the Mason Gross Inclusive Community Award for my teaching work at Rutgers University.

I currently teach filmmaking courses at the Rutgers Filmmaking Center in New Brunswick, NJ. I focus on ethical making, community engagement, and sensory practices. I also teach regularly for Rutgers Arts Online and at The New School in New York City. I am (very slowly) writing a science-fiction novella about stone tape theory in South Dakota and am working on two collaborative short films exploring folklore and community engagement. When I’m not teaching, I advocate for inclusive public education in Princeton, New Jersey. I also dream of directing a sci-fi western, and (one day!) hiking Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail.

CONTACT: jenheuson [at] gmail.com or jen.heuson [at] rutgers.edu