Mumbi Macharia

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epistemically decolonial

Kenyan decolonial thinker, writer, and poet interested in decolonial epistemology, asking whose knowledge is ‘universal’ and whose knowledge is ‘indigenous’ and who benefits. I am interested in studying the effects of colonial and capitalist modernity on temporality, youth and waithood, and African women’s positioning as the ‘Other of the Other’. I am also interested in what I can learn on these topics from classic African literature. I have a MA in African Studies and a Bachelor of Laws.

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  • before birthdays had dates
    by mumbimacharia
    how did my great grandparents remember their births and celebrate progression in life before the need for birthdays? I discuss this through John Mbiti’s event based time, sasa, and zamani.
  • The coloniality of time of the colonial invention of ‘woman’
    by mumbimacharia
    An essay on the dominant western capitalist concept of time, specifically the historicization of how time was colonized, and how it intertwines with the colonial invention of the social category of ‘woman’.
  • Reality is Colonial: Epistemic Violence, Existential Epistemology, and the Big Lie
    by mumbimacharia
    Hi my name is Mumbi, and in this essay I talk about the coloniality of knowledge and epistemic violence. Thinkers cited include Fanon, Ngũgĩ, Tamale, Ipadeola, Mitova, Mignolo, Du Bois, & Mudimbe. Thank you in advance for reading, and stay epistemically disobedient!
  • The Invention of Africa by V.Y Mudimbe
    by mumbimacharia
    Congolese philosopher Mudimbe (1988) said Africa as an essentialized generic concept was a colonial invention, but what does that mean for postcolonial panafrican scholarship, and how do we uninvent Africa?
  • Disobediently African: naming the world & other stories part 1
    by mumbimacharia
    Who gets to name the world? In the first post of her series “Disobediently African: naming the world,” Mumbi explores self definition while citing Fanon, Ngũgĩ, Spivak, and Mudimbe, asking what it means to think outside the colonial library

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ABOUT ME

“She is definitely indefatigable, and her creativity and oratory, a definition of the word.” – Afrowayent.com

I was born to write and perform poetry. I am a writer, performer, curator, content editor, copywriter, law school graduate, MA in African Studies graduate, and Sondeka Award’s Best spoken word poet of the year, Kenya 2020 & 2021.

Contact me