W. Fitzhugh Brundage’s general research interests are American history since the Civil War, with a particular focus on the American South. He has written on lynching, utopian socialism in the New South, and white and black historical memory in the South since the Civil War.
His latest book is about torture in the United States from the time of European contact to the twenty-first century.
This collection, which Dr. Brundage helped to edit, offers a unique survey of the evolution of the American Revolution, from the event itself to the ways it set the stage for the Civil War. The contributors…
Civilizing Torture attempts to place the controversy around “enhanced interrogation tactics” that dominated the national conversation during the War on Terror in a larger context throughout…
Beyond Blackface grew out of the author’s fascination with the brilliant blackface vaudeville comedian and historical figure, Bert Williams. The collection surveys the extraordinary contributions and impact…
This special edition of Up From Slavery reflects the author’s conviction that Washington’s autobiography remains an exceptionally interesting book to contemporary readers. On first reading…
Where These Memories Grow is a collection of essays by scholars in various disciplines that highlights the diversity of historical memories in the American South and the significance of those memories…
Under Sentence of Death is a collection that brings together innovative scholarship by historians and sociologists on the history of lynching from the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.
A Socialist Utopia in the New South, named a Choice Outstanding Academic Book of the Year, is a counterpoint to Lynching in the New South. While the first work focuses…
The Southern Past originated with the author’s interest in the divergent and competing historical memories of black and white southerners. This work stands apart in a time when commentators…
Lynching in the New South is the winner of the Merle Curti Prize from the Organization of American History. It is an effort to make sense of a horrific tradition of racial violence…
[Brundage] challenges historians to think about how history has been and is used to maintain dominance and urge white southerners to reexamine the historical roots of their identity.
Journal of American History
Brundage has gone well beyond any earlier historian in detailing its history…and has provided a careful and balanced view of both the collective experience and individual aspirations.
American Historical Review
Brundage shows that many of U.S. history’s key moments have involved torture of the most despicable kinds. Here’s hoping that Brundage’s book is the beginning of a new reckoning.
Columbia University
