Faculty Profile for Dr. John Mckiernan

profile photo for Dr. John Mckiernan
Dr. John Mckiernan
Associate Professor — History
Program Director, Faculty — Center for the Study of the Southwest
Brazos Hall 214
phone: (512) 245-2142
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Born in the U.S., I grew up in Colombia, Mexico, and the South: I bring a migrants’ eye and experience to my projects in public history, medical history and Latino studies. My first book, Fevered Measures: Public Health and Race at the Texas-Mexico Border, 1848-1942 (Duke: 2012), treats the multi-ethnic making of a medical border. Precarious Prescriptions: Contested Histories of Race and Health in North America (University of Minnesota, 2013) treats the broader intersection of medical history and ethnic studies. My next project, Working Conditions: Medical Authority and Latino Civil Rights tracks the changing place of medicine in Latina/o struggles for equality.

I graduated with degrees in Art History and Latin American Studies from Oberlin College, and a Masters and a Ph.D in history from the University of Michigan. I have worked for the Cook County Department of Public Health, the National Museum of American History, Whole Woman's Health, the National Minority AIDS Council, the University of South Florida, and the University of Texas at Austin,.

Teaching Interests

 Mexican American History
Latina/o Studies
History of Medicine
Transnational History
Immigration History
Ethnic Studies
Southwest Studies
Borderlands History
Urban History
Environmental History
Public history
History of Soccer

Research Interests

 Mexican American History
Latina/o Studies
History of Medicine
Transnational History
Immigration History
Ethnic Studies
Southwest Studies
Borderlands History
Sports Studies
Public History

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, J. (2020). Concrete Disavowal: Re-Placing Colombian Communities into the New York Landscape before World War II. Latino Studies, 18(3), 442–456. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-020-00260-w
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, J. (2017). Working at the Crossroads: a Guide for Border Crossing. Kalfou: A Journal of Black Studies, 4(2), 165–180. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.15367/kf.v4i2.159
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, J. (2017). Health. In D. Vargas, L. la Fountain - Stokes, & N. Mirabal (Eds.), Keywords in Latina Studies. New York: New York University Press.
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, J. (2014). Precarious Prescriptions: Contested Histories of Race and Health in North America. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press. Retrieved from https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/precarious-prescriptions
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, J. (2014). At the Nation’s Edge: African American Migrants and Smallpox in the Mexican-American Borderlands. In Precarious Prescriptions: Contested Histories of Race and Health in North America (pp. 67–89). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians, Organization of American Historians. July 25, 2022 - October 1, 2025
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Program Chair of the 2023 Texas State Historical Association Conference, Texas State Historical Association. August 1, 2021 - March 2, 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Benjamin E. Mays Address, Mellon Mays Graduate Initiative, Social Science Research Council. June 18, 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Program Committee Member, Southern Historical Association. October 2022 - October 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Advisory Board - Social Science Research Council - Mellon Mays Graduate Initiative, Social Science Research Council. August 2021 - August 2024

Selected Grants

  • Roundtree, Aimee Kendall (Principal), Goldstone, Dwonna Naomi (Supporting), Herrmann, Nicholas Paul (Supporting), Eger, Elizabeth Kamman (Supporting), Blue, Sarah A (Supporting), Devine, Jennifer Ann (Supporting), Ashford-Hanserd, Shetay Nicole (Supporting), Martinez, Gloria P (Supporting), Mckiernan, John Raymond (Supporting). Engaged Humanities Research Accelerator, ACLS, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $157000. (Funded: June 2022 - June 2023). Grant.
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, John. Working Conditions: Medical Authority, Latina/o Physicians and the Geography of Segregation in 20th Century America, College of Liberal Arts, Institutional (Higher Ed), $2000. (Submitted: October 5, 2023, Funded: March 1, 2023 - August 2023). Grant.
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, John. Caminos Cruzados: Indian Enslavement in North America, Office of Equity and Access, Texas State University, $2500. (Funded: January 2017 - March 2017). Grant.
  • Mckiernan, John (Principal). Caminos Cruzados: Adventures in Working-Class History, Department of History, Institutional (Higher Ed), $2500. (Submitted: September 1, 2015, Funded: January 18, 2016 - May 5, 2016). Grant.
  • Mckiernan-Gonzalez, John (Principal). Caminos Cruzados: Adventures in Working-Class History, Office of Equity and Access, Institutional (Higher Ed), $2000. (Submitted: November 2, 2015, Funded: November 3, 2015 - May 11, 2016). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Independent Citizens Redistricting Committee - Austin
April 7, 2022-April 7, 2032
Member
National Park Service - Founding Documents Workshop - Blackwell School NPS Historical Siteric
August 1, 2024-August 1, 2025
Member
Lively Middle School PTA
2019-2024
Director
Center for the Study of the Southwest
2017-2024
Organizer
Grassy Stains Soccer Club
January 2019-December 2024