Biography

Derrick P. Alridge was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He received his B.A. and M.Ed. in history from Winthrop University. From 1989 to 1993, Alridge taught middle and high school history in the public schools of Columbia, South Carolina. From 1993 to 1997, he studied American educational and intellectual history in the Program of Educational Theory and Policy at The Pennsylvania State University. He was also an Instructor in African and African American Studies at Penn State from 1995 to 1997.

During his graduate study, Alridge received interdisciplinary training with scholars across the disciplines. His major professor and academic advisor, Aaron David Gresson III, a psychologist and sociologist, introduced Alridge to the field of the sociology of knowledge and the study of ideas and ideology. Henry Johnson, an education historian and philosopher, taught Alridge in courses on pragmatism and Deweyan thought and directed Alridge in a number of independent studies courses in historiography and historical methods. James B. Stewart, an economist and Africana Studies scholar, introduced Alridge to the social thought of W.E.B. Du Bois and theory and methodology in Africana Studies. The impact of these scholars on Alridge has been profound and may be observed in the eclectic nature of his scholarship.

In 1997, Alridge joined the faculty in the Department of Social Foundations of Education at the University of Georgia and was appointed associate professor in 2003. In Social Foundations, he teaches courses in U.S. history of education, civil rights and education, and a course on the intellectual history of hip-hop. In 2005, Professor Alridge joined the faculty in the Qualitative Research Program at UGA where he also teaches courses in historiography, historical methods, and oral history.

In 2000, Professor Alridge and Dr. Maurice C. Daniels, Dean of UGA’s School of Social Work, co-founded the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies (FSP). The FSP is an archival, oral history, and film documentary research endeavor that attempts to uncover and chronicle the stories of largely overlooked participants of the American civil rights movement. To date, Alridge and Daniels have produced three documentaries that chronicle civil rights activities in the state of Georgia. The documentaries have aired several times on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Professor Alridge has received numerous awards and fellowships for his research and teaching. Since 2000, he has been the recipient of the following: Outstanding Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (2000), National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (2000), National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship (2001), Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Lecturer (2003-Present), Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Georgia (2004), Top 10 Outstanding and Rising Scholars Recognition, Black Issues in Higher Education (2005), and the Carl D. Glickman Faculty Fellow Award, University of Georgia (2005).

Alridge has written extensively in the field of African American educational and intellectual history. His work has been published in journals, such as Journal of Negro Education, Journal of African American History (formerly Journal of Negro History), Educational Researcher, Teachers College Record, and Educational Theory.

Professor Alridge has completed one book, entitled The Educational Thought of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Intellectual History (with Teachers College Press), which will be published in 2007. Other books in progress include The Hip Hop Mind: An Intellectual History of the Social Consciousness of a Generation and The Social Ideas of African American Educators. In addition to his publications, Professor Alridge is an associate editor for the Journal of African American History.