Dr. Justin Litke

Email: justin.litke@wku.edu

 

Title

Visiting Assistant Professor of Honors interdisciplinary studies

My Role in the Honors College

I’ve helped to develop and execute the first of the College’s new interdisciplinary core courses, Citizen and Self. In addition to that, I participate actively in the goings-on in the departments of philosophy, religion and political science.

Educational Background

I graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where I studied philosophy, politics and German. I continued my studies at Georgetown University, where I earned my M.A. and Ph.D. in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Professionally Published Work

My scholarly work currently focuses on American politics and American political thought. A forthcoming article in the “Journal of Church and State” concentrates on the idea of American exceptionalism in the thought of John Winthrop, the famous Puritan and Massachusetts’ first resident colonial governor. I am also preparing a manuscript on the idea of American exceptionalism throughout American history at the request of a major university press.

Hometown

Henderson, Kentucky

Hobbies and Interests

I love bluegrass, delta blues and dixieland jazz, and I have, somewhat unsuccessfully, tried my hand at the mandolin in my free time. My wife and I love to travel— from hiking glaciers in Alaska to relaxing on a South Carolina beach, we get excited experiencing new things and places. And I’d be remiss if I failed to mention my love—cultivated from a young age—for the basketball team of a certain university in Lexington, Kentucky.

What Brought me to the HC

I’ve always been enthusiastic about viewing human knowledge as a whole— something most of us academics are trained against today —and about inviting students to relate what they learn in one course or experience to the many others that make up their lives.

A Little About Myself

My wife is the best person I know. I can’t decide whether barbecue or enchiladas are my favorite food. I’m a dog-less dog person with a cat.