Rachel St. John

Rachel St. John's research focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century North American history with a particular emphasis on state-formation and nation-building.  She teaches courses in 19th-century United States history, transnational borderlands history, environmental history, and the history of the U.S. West.  Her first book, Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border, will be published by Princeton University Press. She is currently working on a new book which will explore the diverse range of nation-building projects that emerged throughout North America in the nineteenth century.  

Recent Publications:

• “Divided Ranges: Trans-border Ranches and the Creation of National Space along the Western Mexican-U.S. Border,” in Bridging National Borders in North America, Benjamin Johnson and Andrew Graybill, editors (Durham: Duke University Press, 2010).

• “Selling the Border: Trading Land, Attracting Tourists, and Marketing American Consumption on the Baja California Border, 1900-1930,” in Land of Necessity: Consumer Culture in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Alexis McCrossen, editor (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009)

Contact information: Department of History: Rachel St. John