John Barrow

For as long as I can recall, I have been fascinated by history and the impact it has on the present. What began as a childhood curiosity about the "way things used to be," and the "ways people used to live," became my avocation and then vocation.

As an undergraduate at Davidson College, I quickly fell under the spell of the last of the old guard historian-teachers: brilliant men such the late Malcolm Lester and late Malcolm Partin who read voraciously, published sporadically, and lectured with exquisite skill, grace, and eloquence. Inspired by them and wanting to be like them, I graduated in 1988 and immediately enrolled in the graduate history program at Vanderbilt University and received my Ph.D. in 1996.

After a peripatetic early career that included stints at Montgomery Bell Academy, Volunteer State Community College, Vanderbilt University, and Middle Tennessee State University, I finally found a permanent teaching home in 2005 when founding Headmaster Hans Broekman hired me to teach in the the Social Studies Department at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, TN (part of the greater Nashville metropolitan area). I teach AP U.S. American Government and Politics and U.S. History every year along with occasional electives (and next year, a section of Modern European history). I am fortunate to work with an extraordinarily talented faculty and administration and a diverse array of talented and energetic students.