Epistemic injustices and participatory research: A research agenda at the crossroads of university and community

• Published in: Gateways (Sydney, N.S.W.) Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Authors: Baptiste Godrie, Maxime Boucher, Sylvia Bissonnette, Pierre Chaput, Javier Flores, Sophie Dupere, Lucie Gelineau, Florence Piron, Aude Bandini
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: UTS ePRESS 02.06.2020
• Subjects: co-learning process; community-based groups; Data processing; Epistemic injustices; Epistemics; Humanities and Social Sciences; inequalities in knowledge production; Knowledge, Theory of; Methodology; participatory research; Perspective; reflexive evaluation; Self-knowledge, Theory of; Sociology
• ISSN: 1836-3393; 1836-3393
• DOI: 10.5130/ijcre.v13i1.6703

This article presents an innovative framework to evaluate participatory research. The framework, comprising both a methodology and a self-assessment tool, was developed through a participatory approach to knowledge production and mobilisation. This process took place over the last two years as we, a multidisciplinary team made up of researchers and community-based organisation members from the 'Groupe de recherche et de formation sur la pauvrete au Quebec', were building a scientific program on social injustices and participatory research. We argue that participatory research can help provide a university-community co-constructed response to epistemic injustices embedded within the processes of knowledge production. From our perspective, the mobilisation of knowledge from the university and the community, initiated at the earliest stages of the creation of a research team, is part of a critical approach to the academic production of knowledge. It also constitutes a laboratory for observing, understanding and attempting to reduce epistemic injustices through building bridges between team members.