Archives, Epistemic Injustice and Knowing the Past

Bibliographic Data

ID12902173
AuthorsKarl Landström (0000-0002-7681-0857, Coventry University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume15
Issue4
Pages379-394
Publication date2021-08-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthics and Social Welfare (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-6535 • E-ISSN: 1749-6543
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17496535.2021.1961004
OpenAlexW3189063170
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited40

In this essay, I argue that the destruction or hiding of archives can cause long-lasting epistemic harms and constitute complex ethical challenges. The case of Kenya’s ‘migrated archives’ is argued to be an example of how actions in the past can have long-lasting epistemic consequences and can cause contemporary epistemic injustices and harms related to one’s knowledge of the past. The perpetrators of such harms and injustices are argued to have a backward-looking epistemic responsibility and to be liable to make epistemic amends. The practice of acknowledgement is suggested as one possible way to make effective epistemic amends. I argue that making effective epistemic amends would constitute a step towards addressing epistemic harms and injustices related to our knowledge of the past. However, it is important to remember that this would only constitute one out of many necessary steps in addressing epistemic injustice and that further individual, institutional and ideological changes are necessary

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Injustice · Political science · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics

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