Great Thinkers

Meet the great minds whose ideas have shaped the world — philosophers, scientists, artists, leaders, and revolutionaries whose thinking still matters today.

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Citizenship × Storytelling and narrative ×
Literature
Albert Camus
1913-1960 · Algeria / France
Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French-Algerian novelist, playwright, and philosopher. He was born in Mondovi in French colonial Algeria into a poor working-class family: his…
Ethical thinking Critical thinking Resilience Storytelling and narrative +1
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
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Literature
Frederick Douglass
c. 1818-1895 · United States
Frederick Douglass (c.1818-1895) was an American abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, the son of an enslaved…
Citizenship Critical literacy Ethical thinking Storytelling and narrative +1
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
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Literature
Herodotus
c. 484-425 BCE · Halicarnassus, Asia Minor (now Turkey)
Herodotus (c.484-425 BCE) was an ancient Greek writer, born in Halicarnassus, a city on the southwestern coast of what is now Turkey. He lived during…
Research skills Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Storytelling and narrative +1
"Herodotus of Halicarnassus here presents his research so that human events do not fade with time, and that great and…"
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Literature
James Baldwin
1924-1987 · United States
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, and activist. He was born in Harlem, New York, the eldest of nine children. His mother's…
Critical literacy Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Storytelling and narrative +1
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
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Literature
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
1938-present · Kenya, East Africa
Ngugi wa Thiong'o (born 1938) is a Kenyan writer, novelist, and thinker. He grew up during British colonial rule in Kenya and lived through the…
Cultural heritage and identity Storytelling and narrative Critical literacy Media literacy +1
"Language carries culture, and culture carries, particularly through orature and literature, the entire body of values by which we come…"
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