Jonathan Fenderson

Jonathan Fenderson is an Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently on sabbatical for the academic years Fall/Spring 2024-25. His research focuses on intellectual history, social movements, and transnational links between Africa and the African Diaspora. Fenderson earned his PhD in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, where his postdoctoral fellowship began in 2011.

• Education:
• PhD, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis (2011)

His work examines Black radical traditions, feminist thought, and cultural politics. Notable contributions include his book Building the Black Arts Movement: Hoyt Fuller and the Cultural Politics of the 1960s (University of Illinois Press, 2019) and articles in journals like the Journal of African American History and Race & Class. He serves as Associate Editor of The Black Scholar.

Teaching emphasizes courses like Feminist Fire: Radical Black Women in the 20th Century and Black Political Thought, highlighting grassroots activism and transnational solidarity.