Research summary
A person experiences epistemic injustice if they are not believed or understood because they belong to a non-dominant social group (for example, women, sexual minorities, racialized or Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and neurodiverse people). Epistemic injustice undermines epistemic agency—that is, participation in the exchange and production of knowledge.
As Canada Research Chair in Epistemic Injustice and Agency, Dr. Amandine Catala aims to develop the explanatory and normative potential of the concept of epistemic injustice. She and her research team are analyzing important social problems in light of this concept and refining its conceptualization and taxonomy (the classification of the various elements of a discipline or science). They are exploring how to counter epistemic injustice and developing tools to that end. The research team is focusing on four important contexts: decolonization, language justice, neurodiversity and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in the academic community.