The Politics of Knowledge and Ignorance
Module title | The Politics of Knowledge and Ignorance |
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Module code | POCM021 |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
Credits | 15 |
Module staff | Dr Karen Scott (Convenor) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 10 |
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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 |
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22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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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 |
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Critical Review | 10 minutes group presentation | 1-9 | Oral and Written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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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 |
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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 & Event20 (4) 2017
Credit value | 15 |
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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 |