Michael Fitzgerald

Professor of History
Ph.D., UCLA, 1986
African American,
Civil War and Reconstruction,
Southern history
x3162
fitz@stolaf.edu


Michael Fitzgerald was born in Chicago in 1956 and raised in Los Angeles. He received his B.A. from UCLA, and received his Ph.D. from there as well. As a graduate student, Fitzgerald was an editorial assistant at the Marcus Garvey papers project, and was hired by St. Olaf in 1986.

Fitzgerald is the author of the book "The Union League and Social Change in the Deep South During Reconstruction" (LSU, 1989) a study of African-American grassroots politics and its impact on the plantation system. Various articles of his dealing with aspects of Reconstruction have appeared in the Journal of American History, Journal of Southern History, and Civil War History. He has recently published an article on Black Nationalism in the 1930s too. His most recently completed work is on African American activists and the politics of livelihood, titled "Urban Emancipation: Popular Politics in Reconstruction Mobile 1860-1890" (LSU, 2002).

At St. Olaf, Fitzgerald teaches African-American history, Civil War and Reconstruction, along with co-teaching the second half of the American survey. He teaches seminars on various topics dealing with southern history and race relations. He periodically directs the American Racial and Multicultural Studies and African Diaspora programs. Professor Fitzgerald is married to Professor Judy Kutulas, history department, and they have two children, Alex age 13, and Nate age 10.