Sensuous Knowledge - A Conversation with Minna Salami

This strange thing called ‘knowledge’ has always been a battleground in educational conversations - for example, in lots of loud calls for “knowledge-rich” curricula! Personally I’m very much in favour of knowledge and knowing, part of the buzz of following curiosity and inquiries! It’s just the KIND of knowledge and knowing that we have been conditioned to value over others that I have an issue with!

Minna Salami has been deeply challenging this hierarchy of knowing through her extensive work and amazing concept and book of the same title, Sensuous Knowledge. Her work coming from the tradition of African Feminism is to trouble the hierarchies, not simply invert them.

Minna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish feminist author, social critic and currently Program Chair at ⁠THE NEW INSTITUTE⁠.

She is the author of Can Feminism Be African? (forthcoming Harper Collins) and ⁠Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone⁠ (Bloomsbury 2020) which has been translated into multiple languages. 

Minna has also co-authored children’s books and written content on feminism for numerous anthologies as well as educational textbooks.

A leading voice of contemporary feminism, she has drawn over a million readers to her multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan.com. Her writing can be found in the Guardian, Project Syndicate, Al Jazeera, and The Philosopher, and many others. She is a frequent speaker and lecturer including at some of the world’s most prominent institutions such as the UN, EU, Oxford Union, Cambridge Union, Yale University, and the Singularity University at NASA. She has worked as a Research Associate and Editor at ⁠Perspectiva⁠, consulted governments on gender equality, written school curricula, and curated cultural events at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Minna is a Full Member of the Club of Rome, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and sits on the council of The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the boards of The African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University, The Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel, and is an associate with Perspectiva. She has served as chair for the House of Beautiful Business, a judge for the One World Media Awards, a nominator for the Prince Claus Foundation and the Princess of Asturias Foundation.

An alumni of Lund University and SOAS University, Minna has lived in Nigeria, Sweden, Spain, and New York and now lives between London and Hamburg.

Social Links:

Minna's blog: https://msafropolitan.com/

Linkedin: @minnasalami - https://www.linkedin.com/in/minnasalami/

Instagram: @minnasalami_ https://www.instagram.com/minnasalami_/