More than sixty years after most former African colonies gained independence, the image of Africa as ‘the dark continent’ continues to prevail in Western every-day and academic discourses. Africa is overwhelmingly associated with images of violent political conflict, chronic underdevelopment, political corruption, and economic stagnation. We continue to think of African peoples as backward morally as well as economically. The chief aim of this course is to help correct our continuing misperceptions about the African continent by way of engaging with its vibrant post-independence philosophical traditions. The enthusiasm with which the discipline of philosophy was embraced by its continental spokespersons may seem surprising. It is clear, however, that after centuries of intellectual and cultural denigration African thinkers were keen to reaffirm the values of indigenous thought and cultural heritage. It also became clear that both given the enduring commitment to pre-colonial traditions and the distinctive nature of the post-colonial African states, Western conceptions of moral and political values and modes of organization could serve post-colonial African states imperfectly at best. In this course we shall chart the emergence of modern African philosophical and political thinking from post-independence onward. Methodologically, this course is oriented towards the analytic tradition – an approach that is perhaps especially strong in Anglophone West-African philosophical thinking. We shall touch upon alternative methodological approaches. However, students should be aware that this is not a course in post-colonial or alterity studies more broadly conceived. The focus is on the analysis and interpretation of modern Anglophone African philosophical thinking, broadly in the analytic tradition.