John Perry Christensen was born, raised, and educated in Utah Valley—a place he calls home in every sense of the word. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy from Utah Valley University and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Utah. His students at Utah County Academy of Sciences—where he teaches geography and history—refer to him as Mr. C. (Though, as he is a dissertation away from his Ph.D., his students will probably refer to him as Dr. C someday soon.) Mr. C’s dissertation, which he is currently finishing for the History Department at the University of Utah, investigates the history of science, medicine, and psychiatry in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. It looks at how psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers conceptualized the relationship between work, class, poverty, and mental health from Freud’s visit to the Americas in 1909 to the establishment of the National Institute of Mental Health in 1949. In addition to teaching at UCAS, Mr. C teaches philosophy and history at UVU and history for the Salt Lake Community College Prison Education Program. Altogether, he has accumulated fifteen years of teaching experience in higher education and five years of experience in secondary education. He was awarded UCAS Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year and was nominated for Utah Teacher of the Year in 2021 and 2024. He is married with four children. When he is not reading, writing, or teaching, he likes to explore the many mysteries of Provo River and Utah Lake with his family.
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