Cooper, Ron 1960- (Ron L. Cooper)

PERSONAL:

Born August 22, 1960, in Moncks Corner, SC; married, 1985; wife's name Sandra (a professor); children: Stetson, Levi, Grace. Education: College of Charleston, B.A., 1982; University of South Carolina, M.A.; Rutgers University, Ph.D. Hobbies and other interests: Bluegrass music.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Ocala, FL. Office—Humanities and Social Sciences Department, Central Florida Community College, 3001 S.W. College Rd., Ocala, FL 34474-4415. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Central Florida Community College, Ocala, associate professor of philosophy, 1995—.

MEMBER:

Florida Philosophical Association (former president).

WRITINGS:

Heidegger and Whitehead: A Phenomenological Examination into the Intelligibility of Experience, Ohio University Press (Columbus, OH), 1993.

Hume's Fork (novel), Bancroft Press (Baltimore, MD), 2007.

Contributor of short fiction to periodicals, including Yalobusha Review, Apostrophe, Timber Creek Review, and the Blotter; contributor of essays on philosophy to journals, including the Journal of Speculative Philosophy and Philosophy Today.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ron Cooper was born and raised in the Low Country region of South Carolina. He attended the College of Charleston, where he earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy, then furthered his education at the University of South Carolina, earning a master's degree, and ultimately graduating with his doctorate from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Cooper settled in Florida in 1988, and in 1995 began teaching at the Central Florida Community College, where he serves as an associate professor of philosophy. His first book, Heidegger and Whitehead: A Phenomenological Examination into the Intelligibility of Experience, was published in 1993 and is based heavily on his academic research. However, Cooper also has a creative bent. He became interested in writing at a young age and at one point considered becoming a poet. In the early 1980s, he conceived an idea for a novel, and the concept continued to marinate in his mind until the mid-1990s, at which point he went so far as to make some notes for the project and even wrote a small portion of it. Then a twist of fate—his computer crashed and he had failed to back up his manuscript—caused him to set the project aside once more. Ultimately, it was reading the work of Salman Rushdie that coaxed him back into working on his own novel. In an interview posted on his home page, Cooper recalls: "Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh was the first book I read by him …, and not only was I amazed by his acrobatic style, I also imagined the fun he must have had constructing those incredible sentences. I decided I had to have some of that fun myself."

The result of Cooper's efforts is his first novel, Hume's Fork. The book tells the story of Legare Hume, a fairly average philosophy professor whose greatest wish is to escape the mundane reality of his existence. Unfortunately, wherever he goes, he finds he is stuck in his old life. Hume decides to attend an American Philosophical Association conference in Charleston, along with a friend and colleague, hoping he can at least escape his wife there, if nothing else. However, a series of bizarre events, starting with a missing hotel reservation and continuing with the mysterious appearance of Hume's family, whom he has avoided for years, throws his simple plan awry. David Pitt, in a review for Booklist, dubbed Cooper's novel "a funny, fast-paced, hugely entertaining story that balances intricate philosophical ideas … with outright zaniness."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2007, David Pitt, review of Hume's Fork, p. 23.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, May, 1994, R.M. Stewart, review of Heidegger and Whitehead: A Phenomenological Examination into the Intelligibility of Experience, p. 1449.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 1994, review of Heidegger and Whitehead, p. 1.

ONLINE

Authors Den,http://www.authorsden.com/ (January 7, 2008), profile of Ron Cooper.

Central Florida Community College Web site,http://www.cf.edu/ (October 25, 2005), "CFCC Humanities Professor to Publish Book" and "Interview with Ron Cooper."

Cosmoetica,http://www.cosmoetica.com/ (March 30, 2007), review of Hume's Fork.

Midwest Book Review,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (January 7, 2008), Harriet Klausner, review of Hume's Fork.

Ron Cooper Home Page,http://www.roncooper.org (January 7, 2008).

Star Banner Online,http://www.ocala.com/ (August 25, 2007), Anthony Violanti, "America's Favorite Pastime Hits Home with Faith and Religion."