Biography: Dr. Robinson is an associate professor in the Department of History. His scholarly curiosity extends to virtually all aspects of the human past, but certain subjects are particularly fascinating to him, among them twentieth century United States history and cultural histories, particularly the history of humor. He has been fortunate to be able to pursue these passions in the courses he teaches.
Professor Robinson is also fascinated by the historical intersections of political and popular culture expressed through the act of performance. He was privileged to be able to study the lasting effects of performances first hand during the many years he served as Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Tony Award-winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He combined this experience with his more current research—and that interest in humor—to produce his recent book, "The Dance of the Comedians: The People, the President, and the Performance of Political Standup Comedy in America," which was published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2010 and was recently released in paperback.
Among several other activities, Dr. Robinson serves as faculty advisor to the Mount’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for the study of history.