Assistant Professor of History

Education

• PhD, Florida State University
• MAR, Yale University
• MA, Lipscomb University
• BA, Lipscomb University

Teaching Specialties

• Social Studies Education
• American Religious History
• Religion and Politics
• Identity Constructions
• 20th Century America

Research Interests

• Intersections of Religion, Politics, and Race in Identity Formation, Negotiations of Power and Influence Within and Against Culture
• Current Projects:
  Faith in Freedom: Religion, Politics, and War in Mid-Twentieth Century America
  Where Those People Live: The Search for the Elusive Bible Belt
  Embodied Myth in the Nation of Islam

Biography

Dr. Andrew Polk joined the Arkansas State history department in August, 2013. A former high school history teacher, he is director of the social studies education program within the department and teaches the methods of social studies instruction course, as well as supervising all social studies teaching interns. His research interests revolve around the intersection of religion, politics, and race in American history and the construction and maintenance of identities transnationally.

His most recent publications include “Unnecessary and Artificial Divisions: Franklin Roosevelt’s Quest for Religious and National Unity Leading up to the Second World War” in the Fall, 2013 edition of Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, “W.D. Mohammed” in Princeton University Press’ Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, and five entries for ABC-CLIO’s Encyclopedia of Religion and Politics in America, including the lead article “Cold War.” His dissertation, Faith in Freedom: Religion, Politics, and War in Mid-Twentieth Century America, is currently under review by Oxford University Press.