Open AccessTowards Epistemic Justice in the Archives
Author(s) -
Joe Melanson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
emerging library and information perspectives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2561-7095
DOI - 10.5206/elip.v3i1.8617
Subject(s) - injustice , sociology , economic justice , epistemology , power (physics) , social justice , social injustice , political science , law , social science , philosophy , politics , physics , quantum mechanics
Miranda Fricker’s (2007) book, Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing, outlines how social practices of knowledge-making can cause unjust harms to people in their capacity as knowers. These harms are epistemic injustices. From the literature detailing archival collections documenting human rights abuses, it is clear that archives have the potential to transmit and perpetuate epistemic injustices that were committed in the past. Because of this, archivists have a responsibility to attempt to mitigate epistemic injustice. Activist approaches to reference services can help in this regard.