This course examines the development of African-American thought from the late-eighteenth century to the present and explores various moral, spiritual, literary and intellectual dimensions of African-American thinking and life. Using fiction, biography, historical and philosophical works, we shall focus on both notable intellectuals as well as historiographic themes and ideas that have catalyzed distinctive African-American perspectives on the world. Many courses in African American History focus on how society and non-African Americans have defined and, in many cases, distorted African American identity. One distinctive animating feature of this course is that it seeks to uncover the ways African Americans have struggled with defining themselves. Prerequisite: One course with attribute G4 including AP or IB credit.