Black Philosopher, White Academy : The Career of William Fontaine

At a time when almost all African American college students attended black colleges, philosopher William Fontaine was the only black member of the Penn faculty. Bruce Kuklick sheds light on Fontaine's career as a black scholar as well as on the discipline of philosophy and academic life at mid-century. At a time when almost all African American college students attended black colleges, philosopher William Fontaine was the only black member of the Penn faculty. Bruce Kuklick sheds light on Fontaine's career as a black scholar as well as on the discipline of philosophy and academic life at mid-century.

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.

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. Contents Preface Introduction Chapter One A Cultured Education Chapter Two A Student of Philosophy Chapter Three Ambition Constrained Chapter Four The Sociology of Knowledge Chapter Five Social Change and World War II Chapter Six The Ambiguity of Success Chapter Seven Social Philosophy and Civil Rights Chapter Eight Conservative Pan-Africanism Chapter Nine White Racism and Black Power Conclusion Notes Bibliography of the Writings of William Fontaine Sources and Acknowledgments Index