Shaeeda Mensah, Ph.D.

A philosopher who examines contemporary life to explore social and political structures, marginalized identities, and Black feminism.

Innovative | Committed | Dynamic: In Shaeeda Mensah’s classes, no part of life goes unexamined. In Philosophy and Pop Culture, current trends and social media become avenues for philosophical discussion. The assistant professor of Philosophy earned a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College. Her research revolves around philosophies of social and political structures, manifestations of state violence, and Black feminism.
What is the relevance of philosophy in today’s world?: On a basic level, philosophy is the idea of the pursuit of knowledge. Philosophy undergirds so much of what we do, just in terms of critical thinking. It can be open-ended in ways that are sometimes scary, but that allows us to consider ideas that we might otherwise not have. And there are no time limits to the theories; we can use a text regardless of the timeframe it was written in and think about its contemporary implications.
You currently teach a course called Philosophy and Black Lives Matter. What do you and your students examine in that class?: We take philosophical theories that are sometimes considered outdated, or not having to do with race or gender, and examine them in ways that highlight a current pressing issue. We read Charles Mill’s “The Racial Contract” as a guiding text for our discussions of power structures in the United States. The course is less about the Black Lives Matter movement itself and more so about the reasons that we would need to make a statement like “Black lives matter.”
In your research, you have examined Black women's experience with state violence. What drew you to that subject?: It is a subject that I’m deeply committed to, because while there has been a ton of discussion about the experience of being Black and being subject to state violence, the experiences of Black men and boys have tended to be centered. This has rendered the experiences of Black women and girls marginal. When we fail to think about the intersections of race and gender, we get partial stories. Black motherhood and maternal mortality are examples of state violence that go overlooked when we don’t include the experiences of Black women.

Directory Profile for Shaeeda Mensah

Hobbies

She loves to unwind with reality TV.

Activities

An avid crocheter, she has a tradition of making baby blankets and hats to gift to friends.

Alternative Path

When she was young, she dreamed of becoming an obstetrician.

Shaeeda Mensah, Ph.D.

About Prof. Mensah

Outside of the Classroom