Ryan Neck

Ryan Neck is a Graduate Research Assistant in American Studies. He holds a B.A. in History from Samford University, and an M.A. in History from San Diego State University. He is also a U.S. Air Force veteran, having served as a Nuclear and Missile Operations Officer. His research interests focus on the intersection between race and empire within U.S. military history. Specifically, his current research focusses on how the construct of whiteness influenced American war plans in the early twentieth century, such as War Plan Orange for Imperial Japan and War Plan Red for the British Empire. In examining military documents, foreign policy documents, and early twentieth-century literature on whiteness, he aims to critically analyze the ways in which the U.S. military took race into account when planning for potential conflict in the early twentieth century.