George Cotkin is Professor of History at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He is author of William James, Public Philosopher (1990), Reluctant Modernism: American Thought and Culture, 1880-1900 (1992), and Existential America (2003). His new book project is Morality’s Muddy Waters: Modern America and the Problem of Inhumanity.
Ralph Ellison (1913-1994)
Born on March 1, 1913 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ralph Waldo Ellison entered the world with a name that almost presumed for him a literary career. But his road to and in literature would be torturous. Many of the initial comforts enjoyed by Ellison vanished … Read MoreRalph Ellison (1913-1994)