Production of Knowledge: The process by which our understanding of the world – that is, generally accepted facts and narratives about peoples, places, and things – are created and spread, especially by academic and political institutions. Power dictates who produces knowledge about whom, where knowledge is produced, and how this knowledge is used. Generally it is dominant institutions in locations of power that produce and disseminate knowledge.
Understanding the production of knowledge is integral to transnational feminist work, as we must consider how powerful institutions located in the Global North produce narratives about the Global South, and how these popularly accepted beliefs influence our work. These singular narratives dominate the world’s perception of a group of people. Stories are powerful, and empowering people to share and mobilize their stories is an impactful tool in transnational feminism. However, when actual local knowledge is being ignored and Western institutions are producing their own stories about the South through Euro-American ways of knowing they can be harmful, intentionally or unintentionally. This definition and rationale are based on Alexander and Mohanty’s essay “Cartographies of Knowledge and Power: Transnational Feminism as Radical Praxis.”
Source: Alexander, M. J. & Mohanty, C. T. (2010). Cartographies of knowledge and power: Transnational feminism as radical praxis. In A. Swarr & R. Nagar (Eds.), Critical Transnational Feminist Praxis (pp. 23-45). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Keywords: knowledge, power, Global South, Global North, stories
Author: Seymour Butts
Comments