James Burns, PhD

James P. Burns is an Associate Professor of Curriculum Studies at the University of New Mexico. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served for eight years. Burns earned his BA in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park and his MA in Political Science from the University of Hawai’i Mānoa in 1997. Burns taught Government, World History, and English for Speakers of Other Languages in Fairfax County, Virginia Public Schools. He then earned his Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the faculty at UNM, Burns was an Associate Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at Florida International University and an Assistant Professor at South Dakota State University. His first book, Power, Curriculum, and Embodiment: Re-thinking Curriculum as Counter-Conduct and Counter-Politics, received the 2019 AERA Outstanding Book Award for Curriculum Studies. He also received the 2016 Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award from the Association of Teacher Educators. His second book, Curriculum and the Problem of Violence: Biopolitics, Truth, History and Fascism was released in 2024. His third book, Myth, Manhood and Curriculum: Towards Truth, Self-Cultivation, and Reparation, will be released in early 2025. Research interests include curriculum theory, Foucauldian studies, violence, ethics of non-violence, fascism, education policy, and masculinities studies.