Profile

John Gripentrog (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006) specializes in U.S. history, with particular emphasis on United States foreign relations. His teaching and scholarly interests range widely, from the political, social, and cultural aspects of the American experience to the history of US-Japan relations. Dr. Gripentrog’s diverse personal history—including travel to more than forty countries and a background steeped in theater and music—has greatly informed his interest in the impact of culture in global relations. He is the recipient of the Robert S. Gibbs Outstanding Teaching Award at Mars Hill University as well as the Letters & Science Teaching Award at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

Personal website

Selected Publications:

Prelude to Pearl Harbor: Ideology and Culture in US-Japan Relations, 1919-1941 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021).

“High Culture to the Rescue: Japan’s Nation Branding in the United States, 1934-1940,” in Nation Branding in Modern History, eds. Carolin Viktorin, Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht, Annika Estner, and Marcel K. Will (London: Berghahn Books, 2018).

“Distortions of Heritage, History, Hinder Progress,” Asheville Citizen-Times, August 22, 2017.

“Power and Culture: Japan’s Cultural Diplomacy in the United States, 1934-1940,” Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 84, No. 4, November 2015, 478–516.

“Facing up to hard truths of the Civil War,” Asheville Citizen-Times, April 17, 2015.

“In Commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the Central Role of Slavery Must Not Be Forgotten,” History News Service, May 2011.

“The Trans-National Pastime: Baseball and American Perceptions of Japan, 1931-1941,” Diplomatic History, vol. 34, No. 2, April 2010, 247–273.