Bio
Richard Johnston is Associate Professor of English and Fine Arts. Before coming to U.S. Air Force Academy in 2014, he taught for two years at West Point. Prof. Johnston earned his PhD from Harvard University in 2013, where he specialized in Romantic literature and culture. He earned his BA summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1999. Prof. Johnston also holds an MA from Sussex University and an MPhil, with distinction, from Oxford University. Prof. Johnston was a 1999 Marshall Scholar and a 2005 Javits Fellow. He currently sits on the Marshall Scholarship Selection Committee for the Houston, TX region.
Prof. Johnston’s scholarly interests include: Romantic literature and culture, Victorian literature and culture, poetry, drama, literature and science, literature and religion, and literature and the visual arts. At USAFA, he serves as Course Director for English 211 – Literature, and he regularly teaches English 344 – British Literature II. Prof. Johnston is USAFA’s faculty representative for the Truman Scholarship. In 2016 he was named Outstanding Academy Educator.
Prof. Johnston is also an avid writer of short fiction and creative nonfiction. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Blunderbuss, Corium, Hobart, and War, Literature & the Arts. In January 2018 he was invited to the Pentaculum Artists’ Retreat at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Education
PhD, Harvard University (2013)
Master of Philosophy, Oxford University (2002)
Master of Arts, Sussex University (2000)
Bachelor of Arts, Princeton University (1999)
Professional Experience
Associate Professor, U.S. Air Force Academy (2017-present)
Assistant Professor, U.S. Air Force Academy (2014-2017)
Assistant Professor, USMA (2013-2014)
Instructor, USMA (2012-2013)
Acting Resident Dean, Cabot House, Harvard University (2009)
Resident Tutor, Cabot House, Harvard College (2007-2012)
Teaching Fellow, Harvard College (2007-2012)
Instructor, Wofford College (2004-2005)
Honors & Awards
Pushcart Prize Nomination (2017)
Outstanding Academy Educator (2016)
Javits Fellowship (2005-2009)
Mellon Fellowship (2005-2006, declined)
Marshall Scholarship (1999-2002)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Romantic Literature and Culture
Poetry
Drama
Literature and Science
Literature and Religion
Literature and the Visual Arts
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Publications
“On Sitting Down to Read John Keats Again.” Forthcoming in Keats-Shelley Journal, 2020.
“Byronic Indictments: Opposing Transgressions in Byron’s Cain.” Transgressive Romanticism. Ed. Larry H Peer. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2019.
“Shots in the Dark.” Blunderbuss. May 18, 2018.
“Balls and Strikes III: Transfiguration.” Hobart. April 20, 2018.
“Balls and Strikes II: And the Word Was God.” Hobart. April 13, 2018.
“Balls and Strikes I: Not About Astronauts.” Hobart. April 6, 2018.
“Dry Sockets.” War, Literature & the Arts. Fall 2017.
“How to Tell a True War Poem.” Albeit. 4 March 2016.
“Speech Therapy.” Hobart. 1 March 2017.
“Lines Come Last.” Hobart. 20 April 2016.
“Mate in Three.” Corium. 28 March 2016.
“Theory of Natural Selection.” Hobart. 2 December 2016.