John’s info

I am currently a PhD student of history and historical researcher at University of Nevada, Reno. My scholarship centers upon America’s early 20th century and its intersections of power, economics, propaganda, politics, and social scientific knowledge. My studies at UNR build upon two MA degrees from Arizona State University: one in history completed in December 2018, and a second in sociology completed in May 2023. I became a historian after a three-decades-long career as a corporate treasurer in the investment management industry. In the mid 1980’s, I earned a double-major B.A. degree in religious studies and cinema production from the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC prior to my accounting career, I briefly pursued interests in theatrical production, film editing, and photography.

My historical research follows two primary themes. First, I am interested in the U.S. sociology profession of the early 20th century. With this scholarship I seek to blend the methodologies of intellectual history, new cultural history, and historical sociology to explore how academic knowledge has been produced, disseminated, and challenged in universities, government agencies, and social advocacy organizations. Supporting those inquiries are my interests in cultural sociology, history of capitalism (particularly Gilded Age capitalism), and postmodernism.

My second research theme is connected to UNR’s Racist Covenants Research Project, where I serve as a graduate student researcher and associate director. Starting with Reno’s Washoe County and with plans to expand throughout Northern Nevada and beyond, RCRP has been identifying and mapping Nevada property locations that have historically restricted ownership only to “members of the white or Caucasian race.” Racist covenants began appearing in Reno-area property documents in the 1920s, and they continued to be added to deeds up through the 1960s, despite the US Supreme Court declaring them unenforceable in 1948 and the Civil Rights Act rendering them illegal in 1968. RCRP’s research is continuing to discover more racist covenants in real estate documents, and to gather oral histories and archival evidence to help build an understanding of Nevada’s history of structural racism and its continuing effects today.

I am currently at work preparing articles for publication relating to my scholarship. After I complete my studies at UNR, I will be looking for college-level teaching opportunities where I hope to teach contemporary US history, historical sociology, history of US business, introduction to sociology, and other assorted subjects. Please visit my Teaching Philosophy page for more information.

To contact John

Send a message to john.loll.historian@gmail.com