Towards transknowledging

Epistemic justice matters for language scholars

Abstract

In this article, we review literature on epistemic oppression and justice for colleagues in the area of applied language studies. Based on this, we develop the concept of transknowledging as an entry point for epistemic justice. We draw from personal accounts and experiences as language scholars to consider an epistemic ecosystem of knowledges that challenges monolithic conceptualizations of how knowledge is created, engaged, and shared. In this process, we argue for more horizontal forms of embracing and celebrating knowledge while disobeying, dismantling, and decolonizing currently dominant modes of thinking. Transknowledging, for us, points to a praxis-oriented, transdisciplinary, and transformative understanding of knowledge processes. We consider the ethical, social, and linguistic dimensions of knowledge, keeping in mind that knowledging is not a neutral endeavor but rather influenced by power dynamics and social structures throughout times and places. We envision transknowledging as the process of acquiring and negotiating knowledge by actively transgressing disciplinary boundaries, subverting colonial knowledge frameworks, and working towards societal transformation in the pursuit of a holistic understanding of diverse beings in relation to others and the space we share.