Joseph R. Stuart is a historian of African American history and religion whose work explores the intersections of race, masculinity, and empire in twentieth-century Black freedom movements. He is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University, where he also serves as affiliate faculty in Africana Studies, American Studies, and Global Women’s Studies.

Dr. Stuart’s research focuses on the Nation of Islam and its resistance to racial integration, examining how the movement envisioned itself as a colonized nation within a hostile U.S. empire. His current book project, A Religion for Black Men in America: The Nation of Islam against Jim Crow’s Empire, draws on archival research, oral histories, and media sources to offer new perspectives on Black religious nationalism and the global dimensions of African American freedom struggles.

At BYU, he teaches courses in U.S. history, American religious history, genealogy, the U.S. South, and genetic research for historians. He also contributes to collaborative projects on race, religion, and kinship, such as the Century of Black Mormons Project.

Dr. Stuart’s work has appeared in Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics, and edited collections on the relationship of religion, race, and politics. He is a Young Scholar in American Religion at Indiana University’s Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture and serves on the steering committees of the Afro-American Religious History and Mormon Studies units of the American Academy of Religion. He is also co-editor of Mormon Studies Review and co-chairs the Juanita Brooks Utah History Conference, where he helps foster public engagement with the region’s diverse and often contested histories.

A committed mentor and teacher, Dr. Stuart works closely with undergraduate researchers, many of whom have received university and national recognition for their work. He is passionate about creating inclusive and rigorous learning environments and takes particular joy in helping students develop their scholarly voices. He also values collaboration with colleagues across disciplines and institutions, believing that the best scholarship emerges from shared inquiry and mutual support.