The Politics of Knowledge and Ignorance

Module title	The Politics of Knowledge and Ignorance
Module code	POCM021
Academic year	2023/4
Credits	15
Module staff	Dr Karen Scott (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	10

Module description

In our contemporary world knowledge is increasingly commodified (knowledge economies), explicitly challenged (‘fake news’/’alternative facts’), and is a focus for fighting injustice (decolonising campaigns in universities). This highly interactive module provides a critical introduction to knowledge as a political phenomenon inextricably related to power. We will ask, via supported reading and discussion, what is the relationship between knowledge, evidence and truth? How is language related to knowledge/power? What forms of knowledge/ignorance support injustice? What do we need to unlearn? How are consent and knowledge related? Is knowing only about cognition? We will apply these investigations to a range of contemporary issues starting with decolonising knowledge as a subject, an aspiration and a practice in higher education. All students will come to this module with different experiential and embodied knowledges. Everyone’s contribution will be respected in a critical awareness of the exclusions created by ‘formal’ education in the UK Higher Education sector. There is no requirement for previous learning. You will be guided and supported to develop awareness of your own knowledge positionalities and your own interests. This will lead to your assessment, an original ‘knowledge project’ based on a political issue that you are interested in exploring. Past projects have included epistemic injustice regarding women’s health and sexual wellbeing, the moral limits to freedom of information, the knowledge politics of memorialisation, and injustice concerning indigenous knowledge of climate change.

Module aims - intentions of the module

To introduce students to key theories of knowledge and how they relate to core political concepts, approaches and debates in the contemporary world.

To enable students to apply these different theoretical/analytical lenses to political issues of interest to them.

To provide students with a challenging provocation about their own assumptions of knowledge

To support students to develop their original proposal.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Demonstrate knowledge of theoretical work in knowledge politics and critical debates inherent
2. Apply theory to critically analyse contemporary examples of knowledge politics

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Critically analyse theoretical and empirical materials using appropriate theoretical concepts and frameworks.
4. Define complex political problems and identify their relative significance.
5. Exercise informed judgement concerning the practical implications of different standpoints
6. Locate arguments within their historical contexts.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

7. Construct a reasoned and logical argument through well-structured speech and writing
8. Communicate effectively through well-structured speech and writing.
9. Work independently and with peers to achieve common goals.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover at least some of the following topics:

Decolonising education
Theories of knowledge, discourse and power
Epistemic injustice
Epistemicide
Agnotology
Self-knowledge
Knowledge economies - ownership and commodification of knowledge
Knowledge and evidence in political life

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	22	11 x 2 hour weekly seminars
Guided Independent Study	128	Reading assignments 58 hours; Formative assessment preparation 10 hours; Presentation preparation 20 hours; Critical Knowledge Project 40 hours

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Critical Review	10 minutes group presentation	1-9	Oral and Written

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Project plan	20	750 words	1-9	Written
Knowledge Project	80	2750 words	1-9	Written

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Project plan (750 words)	Project plan (750 words)	1-9	Referral/Deferral period
Knowledge Project (2750 words)	Knowledge Project (2750 words)	1-9	Referral/Deferral period

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Decolonising the Mind- Ng?g? Wa Thiong’o
Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Miranda Fricker
The Epistemology of Resistance. Jose Medina
Power/Knowledge. Selected writings by Michel Foucault Edited by Colin Gordon
Decolonisation of Universities: the Politics of Knowledge. Edited by Jonathan D. Jansen
The Politics of Sex Amia Srinivasan

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

The Politics of Knowledge. Edited by Fernando Domínguez Rubio and Patrick Baert
On Colonial Unknowing. Ed Manu Vimalassery et al. Special issue of Theory & Event 20 (4) 2017

Key words search

Contemporary politics, global politics, knowledge controversies, epistemic justice, power and discourse

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	9/3/2021
Last revision date	20/02/2023