Ryan Reynolds (not the actor) was born and raised in Oakland, California, and is a veteran of the United States Army. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University, where he changed his major three times before finally accepting that history was and remains a flawless major. After finishing at Baylor in 2019, Ryan earned his Ph.D. at Mississippi State University in 2024 and served as an instructor for the year following the completion of his doctorate.
Ryan is a historian of twentieth-century United States history, with expertise in military history, grand strategy, American law enforcement, and popular culture. His research examines how the United States developed an internal security infrastructure during the twentieth century, particularly through police institutions organized along paramilitary lines. His book manuscript, The Transnational Beat: Paramilitary Policing and the American Associational Defense State, is under contract with Cornell University Press and examines the global role of American police forces during the Cold War and their transformation into central actors in U.S. national security strategy.
In addition to his work on national security, Ryan has presented and published on the cultural dimensions of American militarism, including collaborative projects with artists that examine street art and public memory. His interest in visual culture, music, and performance shapes his commitment to studying popular culture as a means of understanding American identity and resistance.
In the classroom, Ryan encourages students to think critically about the world they inhabit. Whether discussing military strategy, foreign policy, Major League Baseball, or the politics of punk rock, he challenges students to approach history with creativity and a sense of curiosity. He wants them to consider how ideas about power and authority take shape in American life and continue to influence the way we understand citizenship, governance, and the role of the state.