DEPARTMENT
OF HISTORY
John A. Grigg
Assistant Professor (email)
287F ASH, 402-554-2953
Colonial America, religion in colonial America, colonial-Indian religious interaction
Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, Dr. Grigg pursued a number of career paths before arriving in academia. Since graduating from the University of Queensland (Australia) in chemistry, he has worked as an accounts clerk, taxi driver, youth leader, urban missionary, and hotel clerk. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas under the direction of Dr. Peter C. Mancall (now at USC). Although interested in the whole geographical and temporal scope of colonial America, currently he is researching a number of topics related to the religious upheavals in New England and New Jersey in the 1730s and 1740s. He has published several articles and presented papers on this subject. He is currently working on a monograph on the life and posthumous reinterpretation of the eighteenth-century missionary, David Brainerd. He has also developed a fascination with the role of conspiracy theories in American history.
Away from academia, Dr. Grigg enjoys mountain-biking (even in the Midwest), live music (particularly jazz), church involvement, and reading science fiction. He follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of a plethora of sports teams including the Brisbane Broncos (rugby league), Carlton Blues (Australian football), New York Yankees, and Kansas City Chiefs, but most often bleeds the crimson and blue of the University of Kansas. He is also a devotee of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, The X-Files, and, 24.
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