Whose knowledge counts for transformative change? – Operationalizing epistemic justice for transdisciplinary knowledge co-production

Abstract

Recent calls for transformative change recognize the need to integrate plural ways of knowing. This also entails the need to address existing and emerging issues of justice as part of transformation processes. Besides distributional, procedural and recognition justice, the concept of epistemic justice has gained momentum to identify whose knowledge counts when problems and solutions are determined. Since transdisciplinarity offers ways to integrate diverse ways of knowing, it is considered a participatory and transformative mode of knowledge production. Synthesizing how epistemic justice has been conceptualized and operationalized in transdisciplinarity and conservation contexts so far, this paper introduces a framework for understanding and addressing epistemic justice in transdisciplinary co-production processes. The framework offers entry points for systematically reflecting on how to approach epistemic justice along different dimensions of transdisciplinary co-production processes. This reflection is required to avoid (re-)producing (existing) injustices and address justice in current knowledge production systems as a deep lever of transformations. • Reflecting on epistemic justice in transdisciplinary co-production addresses knowledge production as a deep lever of transformations. • Epistemic justice can be operationalized for transdisciplinary co-production processes along four core dimensions for reflection. • Empirical research is required to identify which epistemic justice aspects should become part of ‘good practice’ in transdisciplinarity.

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