Africa Writes x Arvon at Home present Sensuous Knowledge Masterclass with Minna Salami

Sensuous Knowledge Masterclass with Minna Salami
Date: Tuesday 20 October
Time: 17:00 – 19:00 (BST)
Location: Zoom
Tickets: £35 / £17 (concession tickets for Senior 60+, Student, Under 18 and Unemployed)

Drawing from Africa-centric and Black feminist thought, Minna Salami presents a new prism for how to engage with the world through her book Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone. By weaving intellectual, mythological and artistic traditions, Minna offers accessible and cleverly crafted essays shedding new insight into knowledge production, liberation, decolonization, Black identity, womanhood and sisterhood, power and beauty. Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the 2019 Booker Prize, describes Sensuous Knowledge as ‘intellectual soul food’. 

In this one-off masterclass, Minna will share her expertise and multidisciplinary approach to non-fiction writing. Over the two-hour session, participants will learn about different research methodologies and how to develop one’s ideas into meaningful non-fiction work. 

This masterclass is presented by Africa Writes and Arvon

Structure:

The masterclass will be delivered via Zoom and will last two hours (17:00 – 19:00 BST) including a break and time for you to write. You will need to have a computer or smart device and a reliable internet connection in order to participate. The audio from this event will be recorded solely for Africa Writes archive. Participants and the public will not have access to the audio recording.

Grants:

There are a limited number of grants available for people in need, on low-income, or unemployed with a focus on Black British applicants. If you are not Black British but fit the other requirements you are also welcome to apply. To be considered for a funded place please complete this form by 12:00 BST Monday 12 October.

BOOK NOW

 

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ABOUT MINNA:

Minna Salami is a blogger, social critic, and lecturer. She is the founder of the multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan, the author of Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, and her work is published in numerous publications. She sits on the advisory board of the African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University and the editorial board of the Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel. Minna is listed as one of 12 women changing the world by ELLE Magazine. She lives in London and regularly visits Lagos.

ABOUT SENSUOUS KNOWLEDGE:

In Sensuous Knowledge, Minna Salami draws on Africa-centric, feminist-first and artistic traditions to help us rediscover inclusive and invigorating ways of experiencing the world afresh. 

Combining the playfulness of a storyteller with the insight of a social critic, the book pries apart the systems of power and privilege that have dominated ways of thinking for centuries – and which have led to so much division, prejudice and damage. And it puts forward a new, sensuous, approach to knowledge: one grounded in a host of global perspectives – from Black Feminism to personal narrative, pop culture to high art, Western philosophy to African mythology – together comprising a vision of hope for a fragmented world riven by crisis. 

Through the prism of this new knowledge, Salami offers fresh insights into the key cultural issues that affect women’s lives. How are we to view Sisterhood, Motherhood or even Womanhood itself? What is Power and why do we conceive of Beauty? How does one achieve Liberation? She asks women to break free of the prison made by ingrained male-centric biases, and build a house themselves – a home that can nurture us all. 

Sensuous Knowledge confirms Minna Salami as one the most important spokespeople of today, and the arrival of a blistering new literary voice.

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Photo of Minna Salami by Alan Howard

This event is part of Africa Writes’ 2020 online series as a response to the international lockdown most are facing in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about this here.