As historian Deborah Gray White has noted, "The uniqueness of the African American female's situation is that she stands at the crossroads of two of the most well-developed ideologies in America, that regarding women and that regarding the Negro." In that regard, black women's history offers a lens into racism and sexism in America, but also resistance to such oppression. Covering a broad regional and chronological scope, this course is designed to introduce students to the major themes, debates, and developments in African-American women's history, especially as seen through the lives of individual women--some you've probably heard of, others you may not have. Much of the course readings and films will consist then of biography and autobiography.