Alienated Epistemology in the Margins of Empire

The form of alienation I discuss in this research is an epistemological one, where I join various postcolonial scholars who have been thinking through how to envision futures of knowledge that are not pre-determined by its European bourgeoisie origin. I hope to address the experience of alienation for those not historically represented as producers of knowledge to examine how they have sought to make sense of knowledge whose presumed universality does not take into account their localized context.

My inquiry takes three parts: first, I discuss attempts to contest a linear progression model of history, specifically theories on temporality. From Kosellek’s theory of saddle time to Chakrabarty’s time-knot, there have been creative ways of challenging notions of linear historical progress. Second, I consider the experience of alienation of epistemologies of marginalized communities, and shed light on their effort in contesting and making space for the valorization of their own epistemologies that have not always been commensurable with the dominating one. Third, I take a closer look at how canonical knowledge and ideas are translated into localized contexts beyond its point of origin, and how this translation process enables diverging analytical purchases that have become meaningful for the population that knowledge serves.

This research uses historical methods to explore the possibilities and meanings of knowledge production and theory-making from those who have been historically alienated from the center of it. By engaging with post-colonial theorists, I hope to challenge dominant ways of knowing and reimagine social forms that are inspired, but not predetermined by the cannons of the field.