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Welcome! I am a historian of U.S. international history.

I write and teach about the history of the United States and the world, with attention to the connections between American political culture and the global arena. While my research agenda is diverse – including a current book project on Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas – my primary focus is on U.S. relations with the Middle East, especially Iran, and the role of non-state and other unconventional actors in international affairs.

I am the author or editor of four books, including two monographs with Cornell University Press that explore the role of Iranian students in the United States (Losing Hearts and Minds, 2017) and American missionaries in Iran (Mission Manifest, 2024) in shaping U.S.-Iran relations before 1979. Together, these books provide a glimpse into the human dimension of the U.S.-Iran relationship and offer new perspectives on foreign relations through the lenses of cultural diplomacy, international education, human rights, religion, and transnational mobility. Please browse this website to learn more about these books, my edited volumes and journal articles, and other research projects.

I am a historian at the University of South Carolina. I earned my PhD in History from Temple University in Philadelphia, and have worked at Emory and Henry University, a liberal arts institution in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia, and the American University in Cairo, one of the leading institutions of higher education in the Middle East. My teaching is rooted in the global liberal arts, and I am an active member of various professional organizations, especially the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Feel free to reach out to discuss my research and teaching, our shared interests, or the possibility of scholarly collaborations.

Contact me at: matthew.k.shannon@gmail.com

CV available upon request.