BIO
Minna is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish feminist author and social critic. Her research interests include the politics of knowledge production, the progression of feminist theory, and contemporary African thought. Her debut book Sensuous Knowledge has been translated into multiple languages and she is currently writing a polemical book about feminism in relation to Africa. She is a frequently sought essayist, keynote speaker, lecturer, and commentator and has drawn over a million readers to her multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan. Minna has presented talks at some of the world’s most prominent institutions, including the UN, EU, Oxford Union, Cambridge Union, Yale University, and the Singularity University at NASA and her writing is published by the Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Philosopher, and The Independent among others. She has consulted governments on race and gender equality and has curated events at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Minna’s academic background is in Political Science and Gender Studies with a specialization in feminist theory from SOAS, University of London. She 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, the Emerge network, and is an associate with Perspectiva.
At THE NEW INSTITUTE Minna is the program chair for "Black Feminism and the Polycrisis".
QUESTIONS
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What gives you hope?
The feminist movement and its long struggle toward a more equal and just world. -
How does change happen?
Internally, first. A person has a revelation that thereafter impacts their actions and ways of being in the world. -
What’'s your current favourite read/song or artist?
I’ve recently read a book by the feminist philosopher Manon Garcia titled “We Are Not Born Submissive”. It’s a fantastic and groundbreaking work, which I am already looking forward to rereading.
PUBLICATIONS
Can Feminism be African? (forthcoming)
Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, 2020
“On Identity Erotics: A Metamodern Alternative to ‘Identity Politics’”, in: Dispatches from a Time Between Worlds: Crisis and Emergence in Metamodernity (ed. by Jonathan Rowson and Layman Pascal), 2021
“Sophie Bosede Oluwole” in: The Philosopher Queens (ed. by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting), 2020
30-Second Feminism: 50 key ideas, events, and protests, each explained in half a minute (several authors, ed. by Jess McCabe), 2019