Albert "Bill" Levi
Bill Levi and MC Richards at BMC. Courtesy of Western Regional Archives.
FOCUS
Social Sciences
ROLE
Faculty
ATTENDANCE
1945 - 1950
BIRTH
1911-06-19
Indianapolis, IN
DEATH
1988-10-31
Bill Levi was faculty of social science and philosophy from fall 1945 to fall 1950. He received an AB in sociology from Dartmouth College in 1932 and an AM and PhD from the University of Chicago. After leaving BMC, he taught at Washington University in St. Louis until his retirement. He is author of a number of books including Philosophy and the Modern World, Philosophy as Social Expression, Literature, Philosophy and the Imagination, and many others.
Relationships
Wife: Fellow BMC staff, M.C. Richards
Black Mountain College Project
Mary Emma Harris interviewed Albert in 1977 and the transcript is available from Appalachian State University under The Mary Emma Harris and Black Mountain College Project, Inc. Oral History collection.
Topics: BMC educational ideals and Martin Duberman book – arrival at BMC with M.C. Richards – conflict with Josef Albers – conflict with Theodore Dreier – college mortgages – salary scale – being rector at BMC – Ilya Bolotowsky – Charles Bell and journal conflict – Board of Fellows election politics – disillusionment with BMC and leave of absence – Pittinger as rector – college versus community – John Wallen conflict – discussion of photographs – Levi classes at BMC – Duberman interview – year with Richards in France
Author
Amanda Hartman
Amanda Hartman is the creator of BMC Yearbook, serving as the lead director, engineer, and researcher. She holds a MLIS in archive/ collections management, MA in art/ museum education, and BA in design. After working in museums and archives for a decade, she made the transition to tech and is now a software developer specializing in applications for museums, archives, and higher education.
Her interest in Black Mountain College began while working as a digital archivist with the Asheville Art Museum's BMC archive collection. She transcribed and digitized over 1500 documents created by the college. While working closely with these archives, she began independent research on the interracial program and Negro Week activities BMC, writing biographies of lesser known students and staff members. That research transformed into this BMC Yearbook project.
