Reviewed by: Cindy Hatcher
Meet the Charlie Brown scholar + professor who makes history fun
Reading time: 4 minutes
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Charlie Brown, Batman and American history all connect in the life, work and teachings of Dr. Blake Scott Ball, an associate professor of history at the University of North Alabama.
A Muscle Shoals native, Ball has long been passionate about pop culture, comics and history—interests he has channeled into academic research, two books, speaking engagements and relatable teachings. In 2024, he happily returned to his home community to teach at his undergrad alma mater.
His approach exemplifies a style of teaching and mentorship that students won’t find anywhere else, and there’s no place he’d rather be, either.
Keep reading to learn about Ball’s work and how it shapes students’ experiences at UNA today.
WATCH: Meet Dr. Blake Scott Ball
(Ben Johnson / Hville Blast)
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Comics, culture + the classroom
Author of “Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts,” Ball chose the topic in a moment of truth over 15 years ago when exploring topics for his doctoral dissertation. When typical academic topics weren’t clicking, he “finally admitted [his] inner comics nerd” and went with a subject that really interested him.
Beyond the dissertation, the book took approximately 10 years to complete, including intensive archival research in the Charles Schulz Museum in California. There, unexpected discoveries sometimes appeared in real time, like the day Schulz’s widow walked in with a forgotten box containing a Christmas gift from Pablo Picasso to Schulz: a sweatshirt on which he had puffy-painted Schroeder’s treasured Beethoven bust.
Ball says his favorite part about his first book continues to be how people share with him about what Peanuts means to them:
“Every time that happens, I wish I could send Charles Schulz a thank-you letter.”
Dr. Blake Scott Ball
His second book for Oxford University Press, titled “Batman: The Making of an American Myth,” is set for publication in 2027.
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Coming home to the Shoals
After graduating from UNA in 2008, Ball left home to earn his master’s and doctorate degrees at The University of Alabama before pursuing a career in higher education. Over seven years working for a private college in Montgomery, Ball began to hear the call of home growing stronger when returning to visit family over the years.
“Every time I came back, it just lifted my heart. I was increasingly happy to be back up here in the Shoals. When the opportunity came up to get back up here, I jumped at the chance.”
Dr. Blake Scott Ball
Returning to the community that shaped him inspires the perspectives he brings to students as they begin their own journeys here.
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Continued support + stronger student experiences
Describing himself as the kid who always left his brain on the playground at recess with Batman, Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles, Ball says he agrees with the adults who encouraged him to refocus on the serious things…to an extent.
“Even as a kid, I thought ‘I am focused on the serious things. I think these things are important, too.’ So there’s still that little kid in me going back, looking and saying, I don’t think we were just being naive children. We were recognizing larger truths, larger realities that were built into the art, and that’s what made the art great.”
“I want to bring it down where everybody can enjoy it. Not to degrade it, but to make it accessible.”
Dr. Blake Scott Ball
He says he deeply appreciates the opportunity with UNA to continue research while bringing it into the classroom, inspiring students enrolled in history and social studies coursework.
Learn more about the high-quality instruction and education students receive at the University of North Alabama.
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