Office:  TMH 222
Email:  rj26@txstate.edu
Phone:  512.245.3750

Curriculum Vitae

Ron Johnson specializes in early US history, with particular interest in diplomacy, religion, and cross-cultural relations. His dissertation, “In Close Alliance: How the Early American Republic and Revolutionary Saint-Domingue Made Their Way in a Hostile Atlantic World,” examines how white Americans and people of color pioneered cross-cultural diplomatic relations in the 18th century.

Dr. Johnson’s research and teaching are informed by his previous work for the U.S. government and in Christian ministry. He was a U.S. diplomat in Luxembourg and Gabon. He negotiated bilateral agreements and published studies on terrorism, human rights, human trafficking, and religious freedom. As an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency he drafted top-secret reports on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Near East political systems, and Palestinian refugees for classified publications including the President’s Daily Brief. His Christian ministry includes pastoral leadership for interdenominational, cross-cultural, and African-American churches in Texas, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Indiana, and Germany. He served the Air Force chaplaincy in Texas, Greece, and Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.

Educational Background:
Ph.D. - Purdue University
M.Div. – Boston University
M.A. - Johns Hopkins University (SAIS)
B.A.I.S. - Texas State University

Publications
“A Revolutionary Dinner: U.S. Diplomacy toward Saint-Domingue, 1798-1801,” Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (forthcoming, January 2011)

“The Peculiar Ventures of Particular Baptist Pastor William Kiffin and King Charles II of England,” Baptist History & Heritage vol. 44 no. 1 (Winter, 2009): 60-71

“A Call to Action: The Church and U.S. Foreign Policymaking,” Online Journal of Public Theology, 02/2004

“‘For Such a Time as This’: John Dury, Jean-Baptiste Stouppe, and Cromwellian Diplomacy,” Selected Annual Proceedings of the Florida Conference of Historians 15 (2008): 95-101

“Black Americans Need to Bury the N-Word,” op-ed, Purdue Exponent, 11/2007

“U.S. Policy Decreases Terrorist Threat,” op-ed, Manchester Union-Leader, 02/2005

“The World is Small,” op-ed, Lufkin Daily News, 07/2002

Letter to the Editor on War and Terrorism, International Herald Tribune, 05/2001

Courses Taught

HIST 1310 History of the United States to 1877
A general survey of the history of the United States from its settlement to the end of Reconstruction.