Feminist epistemology and value

Abstract

This article discusses and develops some recent debates in feminist epistemology, by outlining the concept of an 'emancipatory value'. It outlines the optimum conditions that a 'community' of knowers must satisfy in order that its members have the best chance of producing knowledge claims. The article thus covers general ground in epistemology. The article also argues that one of the conditions that any 'emancipatory community' must satisfy is that its underlying values should not oppress women. It is related to feminist debates, therefore, in two ways: first, it develops its arguments by drawing on those debates; and second, after developing the general concepts of emancipatory value and epistemic community, it argues that feminist values are one set of emancipatory values to which an epistemic community should pay regard.keywords feminist theory, knowledge

Prioritizing the Local in an Era of Globalization: A Proposal for Decentering Community Psychology

“…Also relevant to community psychology is Sivanandan's () emphasis on “communities of resistance,” a means of organizing broad‐based opposition of refugee, migrant, and black groups in Britain to the idea of a common nation. Assiter () proposed the concept of “epistemological communities,” which is premised on emancipatory values that cut across differences in social positionings and identity. Nira Yuval‐Davis (, ), following Italian feminists from the Women In Black movement, argued for transversalism, which occupies a space between the exclusionary politics of universalism on one hand and relativist identity politics on the other.…”

Dialogical Epistemology—An Intersectional Resistance to the “Oppression Olympics”

“…To the two dimensions Harding relates to we need to add a third, which is not necessarily implied in either of the other two: Alison Assiter's (1996Assiter's ( , 2000 notion of "epistemic communities," in which political values, rather than location along intersecting/intermeshed axes of power or cultural perspectives, become the unifying factors. Such "epistemic communities" shape their access to knowledge collectively rather than individually.…”

The place and function of power in community psychology: philosophical and practical issues

“…For example, some using feminist standpoint theories point to how knowledge generation may best occur through dialogical relationships among people and groups who are differently situated (Collins, 1990;Stoetzler & Yuval-Davis, 2002). Assiter (1996Assiter ( , 2000 offers the notion of 'epistemic communities' where shared political values become the unifying force and knowledge is shaped collectively. For community psychology, there are benefits to coming together as an epistemic community.…”