Director of Writing Programs
Joseph M. Johnson is Director of Writing Programs at Union College. His academic interests include nineteenth-century thought and literature, especially non-fiction prose; and writing studies, especially genre, style, creativity, and the relationship between college writing and civic engagement. Joe is also interested in literary and intellectual biography, as well as the history and theory of higher education in the United States. His goal is to help students see writing, research, and scholarly arguments as a way to engage — and perhaps even transform — the world.
Joe is currently working on a book-length study of Henry David Thoreau’s philosophy of education and reading. He was awarded the Walter Harding Memorial Fellowship by the Thoreau Society in 2016. He earned his Ph.D. in English from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.