Jessie Lee Poeltner

Jessie Lee Poeltner is a doctoral candidate at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, researching the sociology of neurodivergence through an interdisciplinary lens.

She holds a BA in French Language & Culture, graduating with honors with a thesis analyzing the works of Maryse Condé and Frantz Fanon; a BA in History with a minor in Art History, graduating with honors with a thesis examining contemporaneous French cultural perceptions of their colonial presence in Vietnam (Southern Oregon University, USA); and an MSc in Psychosocial Counselling, graduating with honors with a thesis on the psychology of return migration and the myth of geographic “home” (Sigmund Freud University, Austria). She has also studied at the University of Poitiers and the University of Vienna. She is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Her current research interests include the historical sociology of neurodivergence through analysis of the creation, trajectory, and impact of labels; depictions of neurodivergence in mass media; and the emerging concept of a neurodivergent aesthetic, specifically in literature.

She has a previous professional background in psychosocial counselling, public relations, and education.