Envisioning the future of engineering education through Africanfuturism: Insights from the Binti series PDF Free Download
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June 2025 | Volume 12 | Issue 1
ISSN 1927-9434
Updated with minor typographical corrections: June 30, 2025.
Envisioning the future of engineering education
through Africanfuturism: Insights from the Binti
series
Lee, Earl E. (they/them)
Arizona State University
earl.lee.1@asu.edu
Kellam, Nadia N. (she/they)
Arizona State University
nadia.kellam@asu.edu
Received: June 30, 2024. Revised: February 4, 2025. Accepted: March 13, 2025. Published: June 28, 2025.
To reference this article: Lee, E. E., & Kellam, N. N. (2025). Envisioning the future of engineering education
through Africanfuturism: Insights from the "Binti" series. International Journal of Engineering, Social Justice,
and Peace, 12(1), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.24908/ijesjp.v12i1.18988
This paper explores how Africanfuturism, specifically Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series, offers a
transformative framework for reimagining engineering education to promote inclusivity,
belonging, and diverse epistemologies. Grounded in Marcus Garvey’s call to honor cultural
histories, we critique the colonial legacies of engineering, which favor Western knowledge systems
while sidelining non-Western contributions. Drawing from bell hooks’ concept of transformative
education, we argue that Africanfuturism challenges exclusionary practices by incorporating
ancestral knowledge, cultural traditions, and liberatory visions into STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) fields. Through thematic analyses of race and prejudice, innovation
rooted in tradition, and cultural identity, Binti illustrates how Black epistemologies—grounded in
community, spirituality, and historical consciousness—can reshape engineering education. We
emphasize the potential of Africanfuturist narratives to decenter whiteness, confront systemic
racism, and foster educational environments where marginalized students can thrive. By centering
Black radical imagination, this paper advocates for an interdisciplinary, justice-oriented approach
that integrates storytelling, cultural identity, and diverse ways of knowing to cultivate engineers
committed to equity, empathy, and social transformation.
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INTRODUCTION
Marcus Garvey famously wrote, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and
culture is like a tree without roots.” These words resonate powerfully in the context of engineering
education, where dominant narratives often neglect the lived experiences and cultural histories of
marginalized students. Garvey reminds us that institutional leaders should create educational
spaces grounded in lived experiences and shaped by the complex identities that students bring into
the classroom.
Historical Exclusions and Colonial Legacies in Engineering Education
Historically shaped by postcolonial Western values and colonial legacies, engineering education
has failed to create a sense of belonging for students who navigate the intersections of race, gender,
class, and other identities (McGee, 2020a). By postcolonial Western values, we refer to the
dominant norms, assumptions, and knowledge systems rooted in the historical expansion of
Western colonial powers, which prioritize objectivity, individualism, and competition while
marginalizing alternative epistemologies, such as Indigenous knowledge and community-based
problem-solving (Andreotti, 2011; Ashcroft, 2001). Colonial legacies in engineering education are
evident in curricula and institutional practices that privilege Western scientific traditions while
erasing or devaluing non-Western contributions to technological advancements (Prescod-
Weinstein, 2021). In light of these challenges, this paper examines how Africanfuturism, as
illustrated in Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series, offers a transformative framework for reimagining
engineering education to promote inclusivity, belonging, and the integration of diverse
epistemologies.
In the higher education context, many scholars engage in work aimed at challenging and undoing
forms of coloniality in the classroom, curricula, and campuses to transform the terms upon which
the university exists, its purpose of knowledge production, and how it operates pedagogically
(Bhambra et al., 2018; Ferguson, 2012). While calls for transformation in education resonate
broadly, their significance is particularly striking in engineering, a field historically structured
around Western knowledge systems that privilege objectivity, neutrality, and technocratic
approaches while marginalizing non-Western epistemologies and Indigenous ways of knowing.
This status quo has left engineering education ill-equipped to foster a genuine sense of belonging
for marginalized students. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals,
women, and disabled students often find themselves navigating hostile or indifferent climates
where microaggressions, systemic bias, and isolation undermine their success and sense of
inclusion (Hazari et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2020; McGee, 2020a).
Transformative Possibilities in Education
Building on bell hooks’ 1994 concept of transformative education, we see teaching as an act of
rethinking how we know things. This involves breaking down outdated ways of thinking and
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understanding, which hooks describes as a flawed and declining academic system (hooks, 1994).
This conceptual paper envisions an engineering education rooted in diverse experiences through
the lens of Africanfuturism, drawing primarily from Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series (2019). Through
Binti, we encounter a narrative deeply rooted in African cultural traditions and speculative
technology, which critiques exclusionary systems and envisions alternate futures. By centering
themes such as race and prejudice, innovation rooted in tradition, and the complexity of cultural
identity, the series challenges conventional approaches to knowledge production and invites
educators to rethink the foundations of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics). The principles of Africanfuturism—such as honoring ancestral knowledge,
integrating cultural traditions into technological advancements, and envisioning liberatory
futures—offer a powerful lens for transforming engineering education. This paper argues that
incorporating Africanfuturist principles into engineering curricula can create educational spaces
where marginalized students thrive.
Engineering Education Today in the United States
In the United States, the demographics of engineering programs reveal an entrenched lack of
diversity. As of 2021, 58.8% of engineering graduates are white, and 75.5% are men, with Black
students representing only 4.7% of graduates—a minor increase from a decade prior (American
Society for Engineering Education, 2023). For comparison, 14.4% of Americans self-identify as
Black (Martinez & Passel, 2025). Although initiatives from entities like the National Science
Foundation have aimed at inclusivity, meaningful change remains elusive. The experiences of
Black engineering students are often marked by racial microaggressions and systemic challenges,
exacerbating feelings of isolation and impacting their academic trajectories (McGee, 2020b).
McGee (2020a) argues that lack of diversity causes stagnation in STEM fields because of
overinvestment in products that reflect a predominantly white and masculine focus and the field’s
unwillingness to address the possibility of racism that undermines research and product
development. She calls for increasing diverse faculty hiring, implementing identity-conscious
practices, and more pathways for people of color to pursue STEM entrepreneurship.
Technology, Race, and Inequities
The history of science and technology has been shaped predominantly by white, masculine-
centered perspectives, often marginalizing or erasing contributions and knowledge systems from
non-Western and non-white cultures (Haraway, 1988; Prescod-Weinstein, 2021). Haraway (1988)
critiques this dominant scientific view, arguing that traditional science lacks an inclusive
epistemology and accountability to marginalized voices. She argues that positioning critical
theories as a tool of engagement for the subjugated would empower and broaden access for
everyone. Her concept of situated knowledge challenges the so-called objectivity in science,
suggesting that perspectives from marginalized groups can provide a more nuanced and just
understanding beyond Western knowledge (Haraway, 1988). Haraway argues that science should
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focus on being community-centered rather than individualistic. By recognizing diverse
perspectives, scientific practices can become more inclusive, emphasizing that those most
vulnerable should be active participants, with their voices and experiences shaping knowledge.
Haraway also suggests that science fiction and fantasy can inspire new ways of thinking, helping
us imagine a world where accountability, fairness, and diverse perspectives are central to how we
create and use knowledge.
Benjamin’s (2019) groundbreaking research in Race After Technology reveals the deeply
entrenched racial biases within contemporary technoscientific practices where she argues that
technologies are far from neutral; instead, they are actively shaped by and perpetuate racialized
and carceral logic. These discriminatory designs embed colonial and racial violence into modern
technological systems, creating hostile interactions that often go unnoticed because they are
masked as objective or efficient (Benjamin, 2019). An example of this is facial recognition systems
that misclassify darker-skinned women more than any other group because the datasets comprise
mostly lighter-skinned people (Buolamwini, 2024; Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018). Benjamin
highlights how technologies serve as silent enforcers of social hierarchies, reinforcing inequities
under the guise of progress. She calls for integrating science and technology studies with critical
race theory to expose and challenge these “carceral imaginaries”—the underlying structures that
normalize racialized oppression within technological and social systems. Benjamin’s work urges
us to confront and reimagine these systems, ensuring that technological innovation does not
reinforce harm but promotes justice and equity.
Confronting White Supremacy in STEM Education
STEM education perpetuates white supremacy culture’s reliance on individuality (McGee, 2020a,
2020b; Morton et al., 2020). White supremacy culture, as defined by Oku (2021), refers to the set
of institutional norms, values, and practices that uphold white dominance and marginalize non-
white perspectives, often in ways that appear neutral or meritocratic. In STEM education, this
manifests through an emphasis on objectivity, individualism, and competition, which can devalue
communal ways of knowing and discourage diverse epistemologies. STEM higher education
celebrates this culture of individuality, which may lead students to minimize their social identities
because they are considered irrelevant. McGee (2020b) explains that underrepresented minority
students often maintain separate social and academic identities because of this perpetuation of
cultural bias. In these STEM education spaces, students receive messages to pull themselves up by
their bootstraps, develop grit and resilience, and embrace meritocracy mantras. Racially hostile
climates are products of a history that has systematically excluded Black voices from scientific
spaces by keeping them out of the pipelines, explains McGee (2020a, 2020b). Any solutions to
fixing the leaks in the STEM pipeline must focus on institutional and structural racism by
reimagining STEM spaces and centering the identities and contributions of marginalized
communities to foster an inclusive and supportive environment.
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POSITIONALITY
In crafting this paper, we acknowledge the significant influence that our personal, social, and
political perspectives have on shaping our work and views on Africanfuturism and engineering
education. Following calls for transparency and reflexivity in research, we aim to make visible the
influences of our own backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences in our approach to this study
(Hampton et al., 2021; Secules et al., 2021). Our varied backgrounds, spanning engineering, social
justice, and interdisciplinary studies, inform our motivations and the lens through which we
approach this research.
Earl: As someone who has navigated the intersections of being Black/Afro-Caribbean, non-binary,
queer, and an immigrant within the predominantly white, cis-heteronormative spaces of STEM and
higher education, my journey has been profoundly shaped by both personal and systemic
challenges. My academic path began at a historically white, liberal arts institution, and I had never
imagined studying in the field of STEM education, as I had always considered myself a social
scientist.
Rooted in anti-colonial research and a commitment to justice-driven education, the last 12 years of
my career have been from the vantage point of witnessing the structural inequities that continue to
exclude and marginalize those on the peripheries of power and representation. Therefore, my work
bridges STEM, humanities, and social sciences, challenging traditional educational models to
foster inclusion and belonging for marginalized communities, particularly Black students in STEM.
Frameworks such as radical imagination, speculative narratives, and Black joy guide me in
envisioning and advocating for transformative practices. These frameworks, along with the voices
of those I’ve worked with, inspire my research and pedagogy, which center on dismantling colonial
structures and reimagining educational spaces as sites of liberation and possibility. Reading Binti
and engaging with Afrofuturistic and Africanfuturistic texts reaffirmed my conviction in the
importance of diverse narratives in disrupting exclusionary practices and creating pathways for
belonging.
Nadia: As someone who first attended a liberal arts college and later transferred into a mechanical
engineering program at a research university, I have witnessed and experienced both
marginalization and oppression throughout my journey as a queer, neurodivergent woman student
in engineering. Now, with nearly 20 years as an engineering faculty member and expertise in
engineering education research, my work centers on equity-driven change, informed by the voices
of students, faculty, and staff who have faced systemic challenges within engineering. These
stories, alongside my own experiences, drive my role as an advocate for creating inclusive
educational environments.
Over the past decade, my involvement in institutional change has revealed the slow pace of
progress and reinforced my belief that transforming educational spaces requires a fundamental shift
in epistemologies. Reading Binti for the first time and collaborating with Earl opened my eyes to
the transformative potential of Afrofutuism and Africanfuturism as a framework for reimagining
engineering education. Through Black science fiction, I see a powerful means to envision a future
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that embraces diverse ways of knowing and belonging, helping us to imagine and work toward a
new, more inclusive paradigm in engineering.
Our positionalities likely influenced everything from our initial interest in this topic to the way that
we framed this paper and the themes that resonated with us from our own readings of the Binti
tetralogy. We hope that by sharing our positionalities, the reader can get a sense of our unique way
of approaching this topic and that we can invite others to join us and bring their own perspectives
and experiences into this dialogue and conversation.
AFRICANFUTURISM AND BINTI: A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFORMATION
The Africanfuturist Vision
Nnedi Okorafor
1
, a Nigerian-American author, coined the term Africanfuturism to describe
speculative fiction, which draws heavily from African cultures, mythologies, and perspectives
(2019a). Okorafor explains that it is necessary to separate Afrofuturism
2
, which emerged primarily
from the African American experience, from Africanfuturism, which centers the experiences and
worldviews of the culture, history, mythology, and point of view of continental Africans. She
describes Africanfuturism as a way to center the Black Diaspora because, often, the West is
privileged in these conversations, so there is a presumption that only Black people in the United
States have a story to tell about slavery. While Africanfuturism engages with the historical systems
that have led to the social and political state of our world, Okorafor posits that the more significant
interest is how technology is centered and written by people of African descent to think about what
is and what can or will be.
Africanjujuism, another term coined by Okorafor, refers to speculative fiction that blends African
spiritual beliefs, mythology, and folklore with science fiction and fantasy elements. Unlike Western
fantasy traditions that often separate magic and spirituality from science, Africanjujuism integrates
these dimensions in ways that reflect African cosmologies and epistemologies. It serves as an act
of resistance, reclaiming indigenous African knowledge systems that were suppressed or
hybridized due to colonialism and the cultural, social, political, and religious disruptions
experienced by enslaved ancestors. Okorafor blends elements of African mythology, science
fiction, and fantasy to create unique and thought-provoking narratives that challenge Western-
centric narratives and center African perspectives (Hopkinson & Mehan, 2004).
By blending traditional knowledge systems with futuristic visions, Africanfuturism challenges
Eurocentric paradigms and opens up possibilities for new ways of thinking about identity,
1
Nnedi Okorafor’s has won several awards for her work, including the Wole Soyinka Africa Prize for Literature, the
Macmillan Writer’s Prize for Africa, the Carl Brandon Parallax Award, and the Black Excellence Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Literature. https://nnedi.com/
2
Coined by cultural critic Mark Dery in the 1990s, Afrofuturism refers to “[s]peculative fiction that treats African-
American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of twentieth-century technoculture – and,
more generally, African American signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced
future” (Dery, 1994, p. 190).
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technology, and belonging. Africanfuturism explores imaginative worlds, futuristic or alternative
realities, and cosmic themes through the lens of the Black experience while engaging unique
perspectives on the human condition and addressing issues of race, identity, and social justice
(Lavender, 2019). Science fiction literature and film create space for Black imagination to decenter
whiteness and challenge Eurocentric and Western knowledge systems by addressing issues of
representation and providing social commentary that offers new visions of what could be and what
Black people need to thrive in the world (Jackson & Moody-Freeman, 2011). In Binti, Okorafor
presents a protagonist whose journey reflects the potential of Africanfuturist themes to inspire
transformation in STEM education.
Summary of the Binti tetralogy
In the Binti tetralogy
3
, Okorafor introduces readers to the protagonist, Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu
Kaipka of Namib, the novel’s namesake, who becomes the first of her people to leave her
community and attend Oomza University. Oomza University is about 140 days away from Binti’s
home planet, Earth. It is a place where diverse cultures and species coexist, learn from one another,
and collaborate. Binti is Himba, a community of people from southwestern Africa. She has many
talents, including being a master harmonizer and very knowledgeable, as she was the child intended
to inherit her father’s business. The Himba people believe in staying close to their native land and
that women should cover their bodies and hair in otjize, a mixture primarily comprised of “sweet-
smelling red clay.” Although excited about the new adventure, Binti tells no one of her acceptance
and flees her home early in the morning to travel to Oomza University.
Readers quickly learn about the social structures of this society from Binti’s experience traveling
to the ship, the Third Fish, which will take her to the university. On Binti’s home planet, the
Khoush, described as a transparent people, dominate the society and look down on the Himba
people. While Binti is in transit, she experiences a deeply concerning incident where a Khoush girl
says her hair, covered in otjize, smells like shit. Despite this and other discriminatory actions, Binti
is determined to attend Oomza. Her journey turns deadly when the Meduse, a jellyfish-like alien
species engaged in a centuries-old war with the Khoush, attack the ship, killing everyone except
Binti and the pilot. Now, Binti is caught in the middle and must find a way to resolve the conflict
to save herself, the people at Oomza University, and the Meduse.
In the following three books, Okorafor helps readers understand Binti’s journey as a first-
generation student at Oomza University, navigating the loneliness from missing home to finding
her voice, developing friendships that become the bedrock of collective actions, and using her
historical consciousness to inform strategies for her success. In the third book, Binti: Home, the
reader realizes that Binti is still dealing with the trauma of her experience on the Third Fish, but
her friendship with one of the Meduse, Okwu, and therapy helps. Her connection to home and land
3
When first published, this tetralogy was a trilogy. Binti (Book 1) was published in 2015, Binti: Home was published
in 2017, and Binti: The Night Masquerade was published in 2018. The second story in the tetralogy, Binti: Sacred
Fire, was published in 2019 when the full tetralogy was published as a single edition.
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is most helpful in Binti’s recovery. Binti ends up spending time in the desert, which reminds her
of home, and it is there that she finds clay to help her replenish the otjize. Binti returns home, and
Okwu accompanies her as an ambassador to help establish diplomatic relations between the
Meduse and the Khoush; however, things do not go as planned. The meeting sparks conflict,
revealing the deep-seated tensions and unresolved histories between the groups. As violence erupts,
Binti’s family is tragically lost, and her home is destroyed. Grieving and uncertain about the path
forward, Binti grapples with her evolving identity—no longer just Himba, no longer just a student,
but something new, something transformed by her experiences. Despite the devastation, she
resolves to find a way to restore peace and redefine belonging, bridging the worlds she inhabits in
hopes of forging a different future for her people, the Khoush, and the Meduse.
THEMATIC EXPLORATION OF BINTI AND APPLICATION TO ENGINEERING
EDUCATION
Next, we explore themes in the Binti tetralogy and their applications in engineering education.
After exploring three themes (intersections of race and prejudice; innovation rooted in tradition,
nature, and spirituality; cultural identity and belonging), we will have a discussion focused on
centering Black epistemology in engineering education. These themes illustrate how Black
epistemologies, which we later explore in depth, offer transformative possibilities for engineering
education by integrating identity, culture, and community into technological innovation.
Black epistemology refers to knowledge systems rooted in Black cultural traditions, lived
experiences, and communal ways of knowing. It challenges Eurocentric frameworks that often
position knowledge as objective and detached from social context, instead emphasizing
relationality, spirituality, and historical memory (Collins, 2000; Dillard, 2000). Within Binti, we
see these Black epistemological principles reflected in the protagonist’s reliance on ancestral
wisdom, her integration of cultural practices into technological problem-solving, and her ability to
bridge seemingly opposing worlds through holistic and context-driven approaches to knowledge.
Theme 1: Intersections of Race and Prejudice
Binti’s experiences highlight the pervasive challenges of racism and prejudice, urging us to foster
an educational environment that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. From the beginning, Okorafor
(2019) immerses readers in the realities of racial and cultural bias through Binti’s journey. As she
sneaks away from her home, burdened with two large suitcases, the otjize on her skin and the
jingling metal rings on her ankles, Binti physically carries the weight of her Himba identity into
unfamiliar spaces. This vivid imagery not only establishes her cultural rootedness but also
foreshadows the prejudices she will face as an outsider.
On her way to the launch port and, eventually, onto the ship, The Third Fish, she questions her
decision to leave her family and home. Her doubts intensify as she encounters repeated instances
of prejudice and bias. As Binti walks down the shuttle aisle, a woman leans away from her and
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pinches her nose as if Binti offended her. Binti apologizes and holds her head down as if she had
done something wrong. A few girls closer to her age cover their mouths as they pass Binti. Binti
quickly remembers why she is the only Himba on the shuttle, her cultural distinctiveness made
painfully apparent. The 1.5-hour shuttle ride feels even longer as Binti grapples with her growing
isolation. Upon arriving at the launch port, she continues to wrestle with her decision to leave her
home and family, the weight of being an outsider in this new environment pressing heavily upon
her. This moment encapsulates the subtle yet painful microaggressions that marginalized people
often endure, reinforcing feelings of isolation.
While in line at the launch port, Binti feels something touching her hair and turns around to find a
woman tugging on her plaited hair, covered with otjize. The woman who discuss Binti’s hair with
other Khoush women, and says it smells like jasmine flowers, but another woman interjects saying,
“I hear it smells like shit because it is shit” (Okorafor, 2019b, p. 5). One of the women continues
to describe Binti and other Himbas as filthy people. Attempting to ignore the women’s reactions,
Binti adjusts her hair and continues her journey to board the ship to Oomza University. These
layered acts of discrimination, from microaggressions to explicit racism, highlight the intersections
of race, culture, and prejudice that Binti must navigate.
Despite these encounters, Binti’s resilience shines through. Instead of letting these experiences
deter her, she adjusts her hair, holds her head high, and continues on her journey. This resilience
emphasizes the novel’s exploration of how marginalized individuals persist in environments
designed to alienate them. Binti’s determination to pursue her education at Oomza University, even
as she faces fear, anxiety, and discrimination, reflects a broader commentary on the strength
required to exist and thrive in spaces that were never meant to include you. In this way, Okorafor
not only illustrates the personal cost of such resilience but also critiques the structural inequalities
embedded within academic and societal contexts and institutions.
Application of Theme 1 to Engineering Education
Binti’s story offers a powerful lens through which to examine the pervasive impact of racial
prejudice and microaggressions, both in her fictional world and in real-life educational contexts.
Her journey to Oomza University begins with a series of discriminatory encounters, which reveal
deeply ingrained biases against her Himba identity. These experiences mirror the systemic racism
and microaggressions faced by Black students in engineering education. Research by Lee et al.
(2020) shows that Black students are significantly more likely (54%) to experience racial
microaggressions at the institutional, departmental, and peer levels, often manifesting in ways that
undermine their sense of belonging and academic success.
The first book in the Binti series is a powerful tool for educators to address critical issues in today’s
diverse learning environments. By examining Binti’s experiences, professors can highlight the
significance of cultural sensitivity and diversity, illustrating how a lack of understanding can result
in harmful interactions. Binti’s initial response to these aggressions—making herself small and
internalizing the prejudices of others—parallels how marginalized students often navigate these
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environments by suppressing aspects of their identity to fit in (McGee, 2016; McGee et al., 2022).
The examples shared earlier vividly illustrate the concept of microaggressions, showing how
seemingly small actions—such as leaning away or making comments about her smell—can have a
profoundly negative impact on individuals from marginalized groups. These incidents provide a
springboard for discussions on recognizing and combating subtle forms of discrimination (McGee
et al., 2022). Simultaneously, Binti’s story showcases remarkable resilience, offering an
opportunity to explore how students can persevere in the face of adversity and cultural isolation.
This narrative also presents an opportunity to promote critical thinking about societal norms,
encouraging students to question ingrained prejudices and biases.
As the series progresses, Binti undergoes a transformation. She grows more confident, assertive,
and willing to confront prejudices, such as when she asserts her identity as a Himba daughter and
master harmonizer during her return home in Binti: The Night Masquerade. She attempts to
convince the Himba chief to pursue peace with the Koush, but he advocates for war because the
chief views her as polluted, an outsider. Binti respectfully but firmly rejects this claim and asks for
a meeting with the Council Elders, emphasizing her growth and enhanced abilities since leaving
home. Despite her personal growth, the systemic prejudices of her world remain largely
unchallenged, reflecting how the burden of reform often falls disproportionately on marginalized
individuals. This dynamic underscore a critical challenge in engineering education: the onus of
navigating and reforming exclusionary systems is too often placed on the very students these
systems marginalize.
Binti’s narrative invites educators to shift this burden and take active responsibility for creating
anti-racist, inclusive educational environments. Her experiences provide a springboard for critical
discussions on the following:
1. Recognizing and Addressing Microaggressions: Educators can use Binti’s encounters with
prejudice to help students and faculty understand how subtle, everyday acts of
discrimination can profoundly impact marginalized individuals.
2. Promoting Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusivity: Binti’s story can help educators emphasize
the importance of celebrating diversity and leveraging students’ cultural knowledge as an
asset rather than treating it as a barrier.
3. Shifting the Responsibility for Change: Institutions must foster anti-racist practices and
create environments where students from marginalized backgrounds can thrive without the
burden of confronting systemic inequities alone.
In addition to the strategies outlined, we encourage faculty and institutional leaders to ask
themselves, “How can we create an engineering education environment that fosters belonging and
leverages students’ cultural strengths?” to drive meaningful change and take responsibility for
fostering anti-racist practices. By engaging with Binti, educators and students alike are encouraged
to think critically about societal norms, question ingrained biases, and work collectively to
reimagine engineering education as a space where everyone can belong and succeed.
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Theme 2: Innovation Rooted in Tradition, Nature, and Spirituality
The Binti series presents a vision of innovation that seamlessly integrates technological
advancement with natural ecosystems and spiritual traditions, challenging the conventional focus
of engineering education. By showcasing technology’s dual capacity to unite and divide, it
encourages incorporating traditional knowledge and cultural heritage into innovative solutions,
promoting a holistic approach that values the individual and their community.
Okorafor masterfully weaves innovation with tradition, nature, and spirituality, challenging the
notion that progress must come at the expense of cultural heritage. This integration is exemplified
through three key elements: the otjize, the edan, and the Seven. The otjize, a traditional clay paste
used by the Himba people, serves as a cultural identifier, a protective barrier, and has healing
capabilities. While aboard the ship, Binti discovers that her otjize can heal the Meduse after Okwu’s
tentacle recovers upon contact with it. When the chief demands she turn over the otjize to heal
others, Binti refuses, asserting, “If your chief knows my people, then he will have told you that
taking it from me is like taking my soul” (Okorafor, 2019b, p. 28). This moment highlights how
deeply intertwined cultural practices are with personal identity. Even when Binti eventually runs
out of otjize and must create more on the planet housing Oomza University, she notes that it is not
the same, demonstrating how ancient practices can adapt to new environments, maintaining their
essence while evolving in function.
The edan, or "god stone," represents an old technology that bridges the gap between tradition and
innovation. Its ability to protect Binti from the Meduse and facilitate communication with them
showcases how understanding and repurposing ancient technologies can lead to groundbreaking
solutions in interspecies conflicts. Although Binti found the edan five years prior, its true
significance unfolds when she returns home. There, she learns about its origins and her paternal
lineage, which connects her to the Enyi Zinariya, the Desert People. Expecting to embark on a
traditional pilgrimage with Himba women, Binti instead finds herself on an unexpected journey
with the priestess of the Enyi Zinariya, unlocking the fullness of her heritage. This revelation
emphasizes how innovation is not solely about discovery but also about reconnecting with ancestral
knowledge.
Finally, the spiritual presence of the Seven, frequently invoked by Binti, illustrates how spiritual
beliefs provide guidance and strength when navigating new frontiers. Binti’s reliance on the Seven
throughout her journey—from Earth to Oomza University and beyond—demonstrates how
spiritual traditions coexist with and enhance scientific pursuits. Rather than existing in opposition,
these spiritual practices ground Binti, offering emotional and moral clarity amid her transformative
experiences. Together, these elements create a narrative where innovation is not divorced from its
roots but instead enriched by the deep well of tradition, natural wisdom, and spiritual insight.
Okorafor eloquently connects the technological, spiritual, and natural, illustrating that these
domains can coexist harmoniously, enhancing one another rather than existing in tension.
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Application of Theme 2 to Engineering Education
The Binti series offers a refreshing perspective on innovation, emphasizing the integration of
tradition, nature, and spirituality with technological advancement. This vision stands in stark
contrast to the reductionist approaches commonly found in engineering education, where technical
skills are often elevated at the expense of cultural and ethical considerations. This integrated
approach challenges the conventional, narrow focus on technology, mathematics, and physics
usually emphasized in engineering education. Through her story, Binti demonstrates that cultural
heritage and spiritual practices are not barriers to innovation but valuable resources that can inform
and enhance technological progress.
Okorafor illustrates how tradition and technology can coexist and even enhance each other. For
instance, Binti’s use of otjize, a sacred clay with cultural and healing significance, demonstrates
how traditional practices can have unexpected applications in new contexts. When Binti uses otjize
to heal the Meduse, it showcases how cultural knowledge, rooted in her Himba heritage, becomes
a critical resource for conflict resolution and survival. Similarly, the Edan, an ancient artifact
imbued with technological power, bridges past and future, connecting traditional knowledge to
innovative possibilities. These elements underscore that technological innovation need not exist in
opposition to tradition but can draw strength from cultural and spiritual roots. By intertwining
cutting-edge technology with traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, the narrative encourages
us to reimagine engineering solutions that are both innovative and culturally resonant. This
balanced approach highlights technology’s potential to unite and divide, urging us to consider the
broader implications of our innovations (Benjamin, 2019; McGee, 2020a). The series inspires a
new engineering education and practice paradigm that respects and incorporates diverse cultural
wisdom, spiritual insights, and natural principles. While there is a shortage of literature on race,
religion, and science, Morton’s dissertation (2020) sheds light on Black women’s experiences in
engineering. She found that spirituality offered a lens through which these women came to
understand and operate in the engineering world, empowering them to exercise agency, resistance,
and resilience. This holistic view enriches the innovation process and promotes solutions that are
more sustainable, ethical, and aligned with human and environmental needs. Ultimately, Binti
showcases how embracing tradition, nature, and spirituality alongside technological progress can
lead to more comprehensive, responsible, and transformative innovations that benefit individuals
and communities.
Educators can draw from Binti to reframe engineering education as a practice that values harmony
between technology, culture, and nature. By doing so, they can empower students to think critically
about the implications of their work and inspire them to create transformative innovations that
benefit both individuals and communities. The following reflective questions may guide higher
education faculty and institutional leaders as they work toward this goal:
1. How can we integrate cultural traditions, natural wisdom, and diverse spiritual perspectives
into STEM curricula to foster more holistic and inclusive innovation?
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2. In what ways can we encourage students to draw upon their personal backgrounds and
unconventional knowledge sources to approach scientific and technological challenges,
similar to how Binti uses otjize, the edan, and her connection to the Seven?
3. How might engineering educators draw on principles of harmony and ethical innovation,
rooted in Black and Indigenous traditions, to reframe technology as an extension of cultural
and ecological stewardship?
By engaging with Binti’s narrative, educators can rethink how engineering education might evolve
to embrace a broader, more inclusive understanding of innovation. This shift can prepare students
to design technologically advanced, culturally resonant, and socially just technologies and systems.
Theme 3: Cultural Identity and Belonging
Binti’s journey underscores the importance of creating educational spaces where all students can
explore and affirm their identities, fostering a sense of belonging. Okorafor masterfully explores
the complexities of cultural identity and belonging through Binti’s transformative journey,
illustrated through three pivotal experiences that highlight the interplay between self-discovery and
community.
The first experience occurs at the security gate, where a Khoush guard scans Binti’s astrolabe at
the launch port, revealing her entire life. The Himba people typically avoid travel, fearing their
data might be exploited, and because Binti has never traveled before, the guard must perform a full
scan. Surprisingly, instead of treating her with suspicion, the guard congratulates her on her
admission to Oomza University, saying, “You are the pride of your people, child” (Okorafor,
2019b, p. 5). This moment sharply contrasts with the discrimination Binti often endures,
demonstrating how personal achievement can occasionally transcend cultural barriers and
prejudices. It also highlights the nuanced and often contradictory nature of identity and perception
in a diverse society where recognition and alienation coexist, shaping the complex ways individuals
experience belonging.
The second pivotal moment centers on Binti’s midnight adventure to the Oomza Red Desert with
her friends Okwu, Haifa, and the Bear. Although Binti had previously sought solace in the desert
alone, this was her first visit with companions, even without a guaranteed way back to campus. In
this vast, open space reminiscent of her homeland, Binti experiences a profound sense of freedom.
She sheds her otjize in front of her friends, openly sharing her people’s culture, particularly the
okuruwo, or sacred fire, which serves as a gateway to the Seven. Reflecting on this moment, she
declares, “My sacred fire will be this desert…It never stops burning, even at night the sand warm
beneath the surface. I can always come here when I need to. And my community will be my friends.
Who else will come into the desert with me? That is love” (Okorafor, 2019b, p. 95). This shared
moment of vulnerability and camaraderie transcends species and cultural boundaries, symbolizing
the power of friendship to create a sense of belonging. Through these connections, Binti illustrates
how chosen families and communities can form in unfamiliar environments, rooted in shared
experiences and mutual respect.
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The third exploration of identity arises as Binti grapples with her multifaceted nature—Himba,
Meduse, and Enyi Zinariya. After a long journey of self-discovery, she activates her third identity
as one of the Desert People. Despite this newfound understanding, she struggles to reconcile these
intersecting aspects of her identity. Binti reflects, “I was Himba, a master harmonizer. Then I was
also Meduse, anger vibrating in my okuoko. Now I was also Enyi Zinariya, of the Desert People
gifted with alien technology. I was worlds. What was home? Where was home? Was home on
fire?” (Okorafor, 2019b, p. 204). This internal conflict mirrors the universal struggle of reconciling
seemingly contradictory elements of one’s identity, especially for those navigating multiple
cultural affiliations or undergoing significant personal transformations. Binti’s journey illustrates
that belonging is not static but dynamic, shaped by both internal acceptance and external
recognition.
Through these experiences, Okorafor portrays cultural identity and belonging as fluid, multifaceted
processes influenced by personal growth, relationships, and the environments we inhabit. Binti’s
story challenges us to consider how educational spaces can support students in embracing their full
identities, fostering communities where diversity is celebrated and belonging is cultivated through
authenticity and connection.
Application of Theme 3 to Engineering Education
Through these experiences, Okorafor paints a nuanced picture of identity as fluid, complex, and
often contradictory. Rather than fitting into predefined categories, Binti finds true belonging
through self-acceptance and building meaningful connections across cultural and species divides.
Her story encourages readers to reflect on how identity is shaped by heritage, experience, and
choice and how belonging can emerge in unexpected places and relationships. For example, the
security guard’s unexpected recognition of Binti’s achievement highlights how educational
accomplishments can bridge cultural divides and challenge preconceived notions. This moment
demonstrates the potential for educational spaces to serve as platforms where diverse talents are
acknowledged and celebrated, transcending societal biases and prejudices.
Furthermore, Binti’s midnight desert adventure with her friends and her eventual integration of her
Himba, Meduse, and Enyi Zinariya identities illustrate the profound impact of supportive peer
relationships and inclusive environments. These experiences demonstrate the need for educational
spaces that accommodate and actively embrace students’ multifaceted identities. Academic
institutions can foster a more profound sense of belonging and self-understanding by creating
opportunities for students to explore and express different aspects of themselves. By activating her
Enyi Zinariya identity, Binti demonstrates how individuals can draw strength from their layered
cultural heritages rather than being forced into assimilation. The series rejects assimilation as a
goal, instead championing transformation and a celebration of diversity as Binti integrates her
identities into becoming a master harmonizer (Davis, 2020). Okorafor’s narrative suggests that true
educational growth happens when students are encouraged to be vulnerable, share their cultural
backgrounds, and grapple with the evolving complexities of their identities. For students like Binti,
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transformative change occurs when they are supported in environments that celebrate radical
differences and foster justice and equity (Davis, 2020; Morton et al., 2019). These lessons from
Binti provide a compelling argument for educational practices that move beyond academic
instruction to nurture students’ holistic development and sense of self within a supportive
community.
The following reflective questions may guide higher education faculty and staff in fostering
identity and belonging:
1. How can we create spaces and opportunities within STEM programs that allow students to
explore and express their multifaceted identities, similar to how Binti finds freedom to share
her culture in the Oomza Red Desert?
2. In what ways can we foster STEM learning environments that acknowledge and celebrate
our students’ diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences, helping them see their unique
identities as assets rather than obstacles in their academic journey?
3. What practices can help STEM institutions create spaces that honor students' layered
identities, moving beyond assimilation and nurturing identity as an evolving and complex
interplay of culture, community, and spirituality?
CENTERING BLACK EPISTEMOLOGY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Okorafor’s Binti offers a profound lens through which to consider the inclusion of diverse
epistemologies in engineering education. Centering Black epistemology—an approach that values
lived experience, community, and cultural identity—provides an opportunity to create more
inclusive and transformative learning environments. The themes explored in Binti reveal deep
connections to Black epistemological frameworks, emphasizing resilience, community, and the
integration of cultural and spiritual knowledge within academic and technological pursuits. Black
ways of knowing, grounded in collective consciousness and cultural memory, resist dominant
Eurocentric paradigms that often position knowledge as objective, isolated, and detached from
lived experience. Instead, Black epistemology emphasizes knowledge as communal, context-
driven, and holistic, where identity, heritage, and spirituality play crucial roles in understanding
and transforming the world (Collins, 2000; Dillard, 2000).
Collins (2000) emphasizes that Black feminist epistemology is rooted in lived experiences,
community accountability, and cultural identity. She argues that the way African American women
are perceived and understood by society, including both negative stereotypes (controlling images)
and positive self-identifications, is deeply tied to the power dynamics of knowledge production.
Access to and control over knowledge is a critical tool for both oppression and resistance. However,
Collins notes that the existence of Afrocentric feminist thought “emphasizes the ongoing interplay
between Black women’s oppression and Black women’s activism” (Collins, 2000, p. 290). In Binti,
these principles are evident in the protagonist’s reliance on her Himba heritage as a source of
strength and innovation. For instance, Binti’s use of otjize and edan symbolizes how traditional
knowledge systems can coexist with or even enhance technological progress. The otjize serves as
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a cultural practice and becomes a healing agent, exemplifying how lived experience and cultural
practices can inform novel solutions. Similarly, the edan is historically significant to her culture
but is a communication tool and a protective agent against the Meduse. By centering these
epistemologies in engineering education, institutions can create learning spaces that value the
holistic identities of students, particularly those from marginalized communities.
Similarly, Dillard’s concept of endarkened epistemology highlights the importance of spirituality
and communal knowledge in Black and Indigenous traditions. In Binti, the spiritual connection to
the Seven, a guiding force in Binti’s life, demonstrates the integration of sacred knowledge with
scientific understanding. Her connection to the Seven and her evolving sense of herself as both
Himba and Meduse reflect a Black epistemological stance that values interconnectedness between
people, nature, and the spiritual realm. These fusion challenges the reductionist tendencies of
engineering education, which often exclude spiritual and cultural dimensions from knowledge
production, where technology is viewed as separate from cultural and ethical considerations. By
embracing an endarkened epistemology, educators can encourage students to draw upon their
spiritual and cultural identities as assets in their academic and professional pursuits and create
educational spaces where students’ identities and cultural knowledge are valued as essential
components of their learning and growth.
Incorporating Black epistemologies into engineering education could foster an environment where
all students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, feel empowered to bring their full
selves into their academic pursuits. This shift requires not only inclusive policies but a profound
rethinking of the epistemological foundations of how science and technology are produced, moving
from a knowledge production model that prioritizes neutrality and universality to one that
celebrates diversity, context, and social responsibility. In Race After Technology, Benjamin
critiques how technology perpetuates racialized hierarchies and advocates for frameworks that
dismantle these structures. She argues that technology is neither inherently liberatory nor
oppressive—it reflects the social norms and biases of the people who create it. Binti reflects this
call by presenting technology as a tool for connection and empowerment rather than domination.
This reframing of technology as a liberatory tool instead of an oppressive one is innovative. Binti’s
use of the edan, for instance, challenges dominant narratives about technology by integrating
ancestral knowledge and cultural memory into its function, suggesting that technological
advancement does not require severance from tradition. Rather than positioning technology as a
neutral or universally applicable force, Binti’s interaction with the edan reflects an alternative
epistemology—one that values relationality, history, and non-Western knowledge systems. This
aligns with Benjamin’s (2019) argument that Black epistemologies can reshape technological
frameworks, ensuring that innovation is not only inclusive but also fundamentally reimagined. For
engineering education, this means challenging the dominance of Eurocentric paradigms and
incorporating diverse ways of knowing into curricula and research. Just as Binti’s interaction with
the edan demonstrates that technological innovation can be rooted in ancestral knowledge and
relationality, engineering education can benefit from frameworks that recognize the social, cultural,
and ethical dimensions of technology. This could involve integrating Indigenous and Black
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technological traditions, emphasizing the role of community engagement in engineering solutions,
and fostering approaches to design that prioritize equity and inclusion over presumed neutrality.
Finally, we draw on McKittrick’s (2021) work, which examines how Black storytelling and
narratives can be used as a methodology to challenge existing knowledge systems within science
and academia. She positions Black epistemologies as inherently interdisciplinary and creative,
asserting that they resist closure and demand an openness to alternative ways of knowing. Black
methodologies attend to the unfinished project of liberation by practicing a form of science that is
about care, curiosity, and the critique of closure. Methodology, she writes, is “an act of
disobedience and rebellion and focuses on how black studies scholars have used and can use
method to engender radical scholarly praxis” (McKittrick, 2021, p. 35) This approach resonates
strongly with Binti, where the protagonist embodies a master harmonizer, uniting seemingly
disparate groups, traditions, and knowledge systems to resolve conflict and imagine new futures.
In addition, Binti’s use of otjize illustrates how integrating Black epistemologies can produce
innovative and holistic solutions. This challenges the reductionist-focused Eurocentric STEM
frameworks, which often prioritize technical expertise while marginalizing cultural and spiritual
knowledge.
McKittrick emphasizes the necessity of engaging with what she terms the “manifestation of new
ways of living with each other” to create new pathways for understanding (2021, p. 42). She
positions this praxis of Black livingness as a rebellious, disobedient, and promising way to undo
the colonial legacy of the academic disciplines. She argues that those of us who work in these
academic units must carve out spaces to challenge the political vision and fight against inequities.
Similarly, Binti disrupts the colonial dynamics of the Oomza University environment, where
knowledge production is often hierarchical and exclusionary. Binti’s ability to mediate between
the Meduse, the Khoush, and her Himba identity defies these hierarchies and redefines the very
terms of belonging and contribution within these spaces. McKittrick’s insights suggest the need for
learning environments that actively resist closure and embrace interdisciplinary practices. She
writes: “Our shared stories of [B]lack worlds and [B]lack ways of being breach the heavy weight
of dispossession and loss because these narratives are embedded with all sorts of liberatory clues
and resistances” (McKittrick, 2021, p. 7). By integrating narratives like Binti into curricula,
educators can encourage students to think beyond the limits of Eurocentric paradigms and engage
with the relational aspects of knowledge, connecting science, culture, and community. The stories
that Black people tell about themselves and their surroundings are not merely supplemental; they
are world-building practices. In this vein, Binti serves as a world-building text that models how
Black epistemologies can lead to transformative innovations in STEM fields.
CONCLUSION
This paper highlights the need to transform engineering education to address systemic exclusions
and promote inclusive learning environments (McGee et al., 2022). Drawing on Africanfuturism,
specifically Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series, we develop an argument for integrating these
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perspectives into STEM spaces. By centering diverse cultural narratives, traditions, and
epistemologies, we can challenge Eurocentric paradigms and foster a sense of belonging among
marginalized students. We illustrate this through the values of the Engineering, Social Justice, and
Peace community, offering examples of how Africanfuturism can be incorporated into curricula
and research to impact faculty, staff, and students alike. Engaging with Africanfuturism also
reminds us of our history, culture, and origins, as Marcus Garvey urged in the quote that began this
paper, and honors ways of knowing that align with the experiences of those from marginalized
backgrounds. Such an approach not only fosters innovative solutions that are equitable and
responsive to diverse communities (Mathews et al., 2022; McGee et al., 2023) but also helps
decenter whiteness in STEM education. Ultimately, by embracing Black imagination, we move
closer to building a STEM education system that reflects the richness of our diverse world and
equips all students to envision and create more just and inclusive futures.
By inviting students to engage with themes like resilience, community interdependence, and
identity, as seen in Binti, we create opportunities for reflection on how their own backgrounds and
lived experiences inform their approach to engineering. Through Binti’s journey, readers encounter
the systemic challenges that mirror the experiences of marginalized students in real-world STEM
education, including racial microaggressions, exclusionary environments, and the burden of reform
disproportionately placed on students. Simultaneously, Binti exemplifies resilience, cultural pride,
and the integration of traditional knowledge with technological innovation. These narratives
challenge educators to reimagine engineering education as a space that values diverse cultures,
promoting a more holistic and equitable approach to innovation (McGee et al., 2023). In doing so,
we aim to cultivate a generation of engineers who not only excel technically but also embody a
commitment to justice, empathy, and cultural sensitivity—hallmarks of Black epistemological
perspectives.
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