Epistemic Friendships

A Politics of Witnessing: Definitional Ceremony as Social Justice Work in Academia

“…I want to caution for an understanding of “relational meaning-making” that erases differences, implies a shared knowledge artifact, and deflates power and privilege differentials. On the contrary, my reading of definitional ceremonies, based on its particular politics of witnessing, is “grounded in definitions of difference, difference that attempts to resist incorporation and appropriation by providing a space for historically silenced people to construct knowledge” (Nguyen et al, 2016, p. 13).…”

“…Moreover, if we are to understand resistance in academia as “the active and self-conscious contestation of dominant discourses, representations, and epistemologies … and … the production of knowledge that disrupts these sedimented and violent ways of knowing” (Nguyen et al, 2016, p. 13) then centering on, acknowledging and responding to those who produce knowledge outside of academia, like illustrated in this case, is a dissident epistemological practice. In thinking about these ideas, I have found much resonance with the work of Nguyen et al (2016, p. 11), who describe “the epistemic friendships that are produced through purposeful collective knowledge making” within a transnational feminist project proposed by professor Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Now, Mr. Boochani and Dr. Surma may not be working on a joint, collaborative project nor may they describe their relationship as a friendship; however, I do believe definitional ceremonies can honor epistemic relationships and perhaps even be part of developing forms of epistemic friendships within and outside academia.…”

“…Now, Mr. Boochani and Dr. Surma may not be working on a joint, collaborative project nor may they describe their relationship as a friendship; however, I do believe definitional ceremonies can honor epistemic relationships and perhaps even be part of developing forms of epistemic friendships within and outside academia. Like “epistemic friendships” (Nguyen et al, 2016, p. 14, 16), the particular form of witnessing involved in definitional ceremonies can enable a “supportive and reflexive space” as well as help us “push one another toward greater, more effective, more nuanced political work for radical justice”. The particular exchanges between Mr. Boochani and Dr. Surma are epistemic as they are geared toward making sense of some of the philosophical, historical, and political dimensions of the detention system (Boochani, 2018a) and give insight into new understandings of their own lives and relationships.…”