Johnathan Williams is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Marian University in Indianapolis. He earned his BA and MA in history from the University of Northern Iowa and holds a Ph.D. in American history from Boston University.
His research engages in questions relating to modern U.S. history, politics, business, and the environment. His current book project, "The Retail Exception: Target and Modern American Environmental Politics", focuses on the Target Corporation to understand the environmental politics of the modern retail industry. In addition to writing about retail and the environment, Professor Williams has written about waste contamination in the United States and the EPA Superfund program, conservation, and environmental justice.
Professor Williams teaches courses on a range of American history topics, including the environment, politics, business, and the Midwest. He encourages students to develop their own answers to complex historical questions and to explore research topics they are passionate about.
Courses
Research Interests
Peer-Reviewed Publications
“Gray Space: Distribution Centers and Remaking California’s Inland Empire.” History ofRetailing and Consumption [Special Issue on Distribution]. (Expected Spring 2026).
“‘Taking Paradise’: A Target Distribution Center and a Battle in the Midwest,” Big-Box USA: The Environmental Impact of America’s Biggest Retail Stores, edited by Bartow Elmore, Rachel Gross and Sherri Sheu. University Press of Wyoming, 2024. 53-75.
“Targeting Reform: Superfund, Industri-Plex, and Pollution Remediation in the United States.” Environmental History 29, no. 2 (April 2024): 307-333.
Other Publications (Select)
