Pushing against conventions: an African feminist contribution to knowledge-making

Abstract

ABSTRACT Knowledge-making in universities is shaped by conventions that neglect and/or suppress less conventional kinds of knowledge that may hold viable solutions to society’s problems. Knowledge always has political interests, and close-up research on knowledge-making can liberate marginalized ideas, by exposing how they push against and beyond conventional perspectives and mutations. African feminist theoretical ideas are used to examine three different platforms for knowledge-making: one research project and two courses that were taught. The African feminist praxis is demonstrated through two main processes – reflection and communal knowledge-making – which infuse the methodology and pedagogy of the three platforms. The article shows how they transgress the conventions to bring about inclusive and generative knowledge-making. They provide strategies for future research and teaching experiments, demonstrating ways in which African Feminist ideas can have transformative effects beyond their own margins.