John Strait is a broadly trained human geographer specializing in sociocultural, urban, and ethnic geographies. His main research and teaching interests lie at the intersections of racial and ethnic identities, urban residential dynamics, diaspora studies and the geographic dimensions of social movements and the ways they manifest via music, visual arts, urban street art, and religion. Dr. Strait regularly directs field courses and workshops that incorporate these various subject matter, particularly as they pertain to the U.S. South, the Mississippi Delta, Hawaii, Cuba, Spain and Brazil.

He earned his BA degree in Geography and Urban Studies from Wittenberg University (Ohio), his MA degree in Geography from Georgia State University (Atlanta, Georgia), and his PhD from The University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia).

He is currently a Professor of Geography at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where he also serves as the Assistant Chair and Geography Program Coordinator in the Department of Geography and Geology.