Participatory Research, Capabilities and Epistemic Justice: A Transformative Agenda for Higher Education

"This marvellous collection assembles a set of highly insightful essays that blend the capability approach and participatory action research in order to fight epistemic injustices in higher education contexts. Highly congenial to Freirean pedagogy, the collection vividly demonstrates the epistemic and emancipatory power of participatory knowledge production from below."
—Julian Culp, The American University of Paris, France
"This is a splendid book which makes a significant, important and original contribution to the broad field of education and social justice. It successfully brings together the concepts of epistemic justice, participatory research and capabilities formation in eight exciting cases of substantial projects which involve participants who have been traditionally silent or silenced in different global contexts."
—Monica Mclean, University of Nottingham, UK

This book explores the potential of participatory research and the capability approach to transform understandings of higher education. The editors and contributors illuminate the importance of epistemic in/justice as a foundation to a reflexive, inclusive and decolonial approach to knowledge, as well as its importance to democratic life and participation in higher education. Drawing together eight global case studies, the authors argue for an ecology of knowledge that expands epistemic capabilities in higher education through teaching, research and policy making. Moreover, the chapters illustrate how these epistemic capabilities can be marginalised by both institutions and structural and historical factors; as well as the potential for possibilities when spaces are opened for genuine participation and designed for a plurality of voices. This book will appeal to scholars of social justice and participatory research as well as ongoing debates around decolonising the academy.

Melanie Walker is Distinguished Professor in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State, South Africa, and holds the South African Research Chair in Higher Education and Human Development. Her research interests focus on social justice and human development in higher education in the global South.

Alejandra Boni is Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain and Deputy Director of Ingenio (CSIC-UPV). Her research interests focus on human development, higher education, global citizenship and transformative innovation.