| Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government Professor of African and African American Studies Harvard College Professor | |
| Alma Mater: | Oberlin College |
| Workplaces: | Harvard University |
Jennifer Lucy Hochschild (born September 17, 1950) is an American political scientist. She serves as the Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government, Professor of African and African American Studies and Harvard College Professor at Harvard University. She is also a member of the faculty at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Hochschild received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Hochschild was the 2015–2016 President of the American Political Science Association.
In 2019, Hochschild was on the ad hoc committee involved in denying tenure to Lorgia García Peña, an Afro-Latina professor in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. According to a New Yorker article, Hochschild had characterized Peña's work as "not research, but activism."
In February 2022, Hochschild was one of 38 Harvard faculty to sign a letter to The Harvard Crimson defending professor John Comaroff after he was placed on unpaid leave for violating the university's sexual and professional conduct policies.[1] After Harvard graduate students filed a lawsuit with detailed allegations of Comaroff's sexual harassment, Hochschild and other professors said they wished to retract their signatures.[2]
In January 2024, Hochschild questioned the Harvard credentials of Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and graduate of Harvard Extension School who at the time of Hochschild's commments was a leading critic of Harvard Predident Claudine Gray. Rufo had previously stated that he was a Harvard graduate without mentioning the HES affiliation. Hochschild, who taught courses at HES, wrote on Twitter that the school's students were "great" but "not what we typically normally think of as Harvard graduate students." The Harvard Extension Student Association said that it was "deeply concerned and disappointed" by Hochschild's remarks. In response, Hochschild apologized for her comments, clarifying that "students should proudly state their HES degree". HESA characterized her apology as not a real apology. [3] [4]