Black Philosopher, White Academy: The Career of William Fontaine [Hardcover]

Bruce Kuklick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812240987 | ISBN-13: 978-0812240986 | Publication Date: June 25, 2008

At a time when almost all African American college students attended black colleges, philosopher William Fontaine was the only black member of the University of Pennsylvania faculty—and quite possibly the only black member of any faculty in the Ivy League. Little is known about Fontaine, but his predicament was common to African American professionals and intellectuals at a critical time in the history of civil rights and race relations in the United States.

Black Philosopher, White Academy is at once a biographical sketch of a man caught up in the issues and the dilemmas of race in the middle of the last century; a portrait of a salient aspect of academic life then; and an intellectual history of a period in African American life and letters, the discipline of philosophy, and the American academy. It is also a meditation on the sources available to a practicing historian and, frustratingly, the sources that are not. Bruce Kuklick stays close to the slim packet of evidence left on Fontaine's life and career but also strains against its limitations to extract the largest possible insights into the life of the elusive Fontaine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"William Fontaine should be considered a pioneering African American intellectual. What is so fascinating about his story is that it is neither a heroic tale nor a tragic one. This is a portrait of academic life for so many: one of grinding travail and minimal success. While Fontaine was a standout within the African American community, his career in an Ivy League school, before and after the high tide of the civil rights movement, was spent largely in obscurity. What must this have been like for him? Bruce Kuklick has masterfully brought us to the limits of what we may know."—Edward J. Blum, author of W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet

About the Author

Bruce Kuklick is Nichols Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania and author of several books, including A History of Philosophy in America, 1720-2000.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (June 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812240987
• ISBN-13: 978-0812240986
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,901,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fontaine's Philosophy, July 18, 2008

By 

David Liebers (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Philosopher, White Academy: The Career of William Fontaine (Hardcover)

Kuklick is not pushing the story of a heroic, iconic individual--Fontaine is not cast as a symbol of racial improvement.

Instead he's telling the story of an individual whose career in academia was unlikely, rare for its time, and was, in fact, a mentor to Kuklick at the University of Pennsylvania. Fontaine's scholarly contributions, and his broader importance are both discussed.

Race in higher education is a subject that will not go away any time soon, and this book certainly pushes the discussion forward.