Alain L. Locke : biography of a philosopher / Leonard Harris & Charles Molesworth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Leonard, 1948-

Contributor:

Molesworth, Charles, 1941-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Locke, Alain, 1885-1954.

Locke, Alain.

African American philosophers--Biography.

African American philosophers.

African American intellectuals--Biography.

African American intellectuals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (449 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Alain L. Locke (1886-1954), in his famous 1925 anthology The New Negro, declared that "the pulse of the Negro world has begun to beat in Harlem." Often called the father of the Harlem Renaissance, Locke had his finger directly on that pulse, promoting, influencing, and sparring with such figures as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, William Grant Still, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Bunche, and John Dewey. The long-awaited first biography of this extraordinarily gifted philosopher and writer, Alain L. Locke narrates the untold story of his profound impact on twentieth-century America's cultural and intellectual life. Leonard Harris and Charles Molesworth trace this story through Locke's Philadelphia upbringing, his undergraduate years at Harvard-where William James helped spark his influential engagement with pragmatism-and his tenure as the first African American Rhodes Scholar. The heart of their narrative illuminates Locke's heady years in 1920's New York City and his forty-year career at Howard University, where he helped spearhead the adult education movement of the 1930's and wrote on topics ranging from the philosophy of value to the theory of democracy. Harris and Molesworth show that throughout this illustrious career-despite a formal manner that many observers interpreted as elitist or distant-Locke remained a warm and effective teacher and mentor, as well as a fierce champion of literature and art as means of breaking down barriers between communities. The multifaceted portrait that emerges from this engaging account effectively reclaims Locke's rightful place in the pantheon of America's most important minds.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Lockes of Philadelphia

2. Harvard

3. Oxford and Berlin

4. Howard: The Early Years

5. Howard and Beyond

6. The Renaissance and the New Negro

7. After The New Negro

8. New Horizons: Sahdji to the Bronze Booklets

9. The Educator at Work and at Large

10. Theorizing Democracy

11. The Final Years

12. Locke's Legacy

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [391]-417) and index.

ISBN:

9786612504235

9781282504233

1282504231

9780226317809

0226317803

OCLC:

609855182