Alain L. Locke: The Biography of a PhilosopherAlain L. Locke (1886-1954), in his famous 1925 anthology TheNew 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 1920s New York City and his forty-year career at Howard University, where he helped spearhead the adult education movement of the 1930s 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. |
From inside the book
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Page 9
The Biography of a Philosopher Leonard Harris, Charles Molesworth. Fig . 1.1. Mary Hawkins Locke. Always a model of decorum, she taught school for most of her life and traveled with Locke to Europe in the years just after his stay in ...
The Biography of a Philosopher Leonard Harris, Charles Molesworth. Fig . 1.1. Mary Hawkins Locke. Always a model of decorum, she taught school for most of her life and traveled with Locke to Europe in the years just after his stay in ...
Page 12
... Locke's self-confidence, an attribute reflected often in his relations with others throughout his adult life. Locke's self ... Mary Locke evidently attended some function, dressed more smartly than the norm. The newspaper reported this ...
... Locke's self-confidence, an attribute reflected often in his relations with others throughout his adult life. Locke's self ... Mary Locke evidently attended some function, dressed more smartly than the norm. The newspaper reported this ...
Page 14
... Locke struggled with, both as teacher and a critic, throughout his long career. As for his mother's role in his upbringing, Locke ... Mary Locke. “As a child I stopped play promptly and waited for her return every school day, and the only ...
... Locke struggled with, both as teacher and a critic, throughout his long career. As for his mother's role in his upbringing, Locke ... Mary Locke. “As a child I stopped play promptly and waited for her return every school day, and the only ...
Page 15
... Mary Locke from her commitment to Adler's Ethical Culture—can be seen as contributing to many aspects of Locke's career and character: his teacherliness, his trust in critical standards to account for esthetic effects, his willingness ...
... Mary Locke from her commitment to Adler's Ethical Culture—can be seen as contributing to many aspects of Locke's career and character: his teacherliness, his trust in critical standards to account for esthetic effects, his willingness ...
Page 19
... Locke attended the Charles Close School, at Seventh and Dickinson Streets in Philadelphia. Mary Locke taught at this school before, during, and after Locke was a student there, from 1886 to 1903, then joining Mt. Vernon. It combined ...
... Locke attended the Charles Close School, at Seventh and Dickinson Streets in Philadelphia. Mary Locke taught at this school before, during, and after Locke was a student there, from 1886 to 1903, then joining Mt. Vernon. It combined ...
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
28 | |
3 Oxford and Berlin | 59 |
The Early Years | 107 |
5 Howard and Beyond | 142 |
6 The Renaissance and the New Negro | 179 |
7 After The New Negro | 218 |
Sahdji to the Bronze Booklets | 251 |
9 The Educator at Work and at Large | 285 |
10 Theorizing Democracy | 328 |
11 The Final Years | 358 |
12 Lockes Legacy | 381 |
Notes | 391 |
Index | 419 |
Other editions - View all
Alain L. Locke: The Biography of a Philosopher Leonard Harris,Charles Molesworth No preview available - 2010 |
Alain L. Locke: The Biography of a Philosopher Leonard Harris,Charles Molesworth No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
academic African American African art Alain Locke ALPHU appeared argued argument artistic attitude Berlin Bois’s called Claude McKay College color Cosmopolitan criticism Cullen cultural decades democracy Dickerman early especially essay esthetic eventually experience expression Fauset friends friendship Harlem Renaissance Harvard Howard University Hughes Hughes’s Hurston idea intellectual interest issue Johnson journal Kallen Kellogg Kelly Miller Langston Langston Hughes later lectures letter literary literature Locke felt Locke wrote Locke’s Mary Locke Mason McKay McKay’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center mother Negro art novel one’s Oxford Philadelphia philosophy poems poet poetry political problem published question race racial racism Rhodes Rhodes Scholarship role Sahdji Schomburg School Seme sense social story Survey Graphic talent theory thought tion told Locke took Toomer tradition value theory values Vechten views W. E. B. Du Bois Washington writing year-end reviews York