David Jenkins attended the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he received an honors B.A. in Russian Language and Literature, French minor, in 1970. He then studied Linguistics and Comparative Literature at Utah, earning an M.A. in Comparative Literature in 1974. In 1978 he received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (emphases in Poetry and Translation) from Columbia University in New York City. He completed his Ph.D. in 1987 in Comparative Literature at The University of Texas at Austin, where his major emphases were Russian and French intellectual history, literary theory, and practical criticism. Dr. Jenkins has taught Russian at the University of Utah (1970-1972); English at The University of Texas (1980-1984 and 1986-1987); Humanities at Nova University (1988-1989); and Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Broward Community College (1990-1991) and Austin Community College (1992-1993). From 1984 to 1986 Dr. Jenkins served as a "foreign expert" in Dalian, China, where he taught linguistics, literature, Western intellectual history, and modern media studies. In 1993-1994 he again returned to China, to edit and teach in Beijing. In 1987 he was a Fulbright lecturer in American Literature at Cyril and Methodius University in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, and in 1994 he returned to Bulgaria, again as a Fulbright Lecturer, where from 1994 to 1997 he was also Associate Professor of American Literature and Civilization at Plovdiv University, and of American and British Literature at the University of Shumen. From 1997 to 2000 he was Professor of Humanities at Vilnius University Kaunas Humanities Faculty and Lecturer in American Literature at Vytautas Magnus University.
Professor Jenkins taught American and world literature at American University, Blagoevgrad (2002-2004).
He is a professor of American and world literature at Plovdiv University (from 2000 to now).