I often talk about knowledge production and epistemic justice. I am very interested in how ideas and theories are produced and legitimized through institutions. More importantly, I am interested in how these knowledge or theories are then deployed as the foundations for racist, misogynist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, ableist, etc etc tools of discipline. Knowledge or theories that are produced and accepted as “valid” then become the basis for policies and public discourses and, in turn, permeate the media and pop culture we both produce and consume. So my interest in knowledge and epistemic justice is mostly based on the practical applications that we later on have to endure based on these ideas.
So, imagine how I laughed and laughed when I read Encyclopedia Britannica’s definition of Imperialism:
imperialism, state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Because it always involves the use of power, whether military force or some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible, and the term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy.
There, from the get go, in the intro paragraph: do not use that word unless you are fully aware that it’s nothing but propaganda to discredit. Nevermind that the word has a history and a documented process of building, acquiring, othering and subjugating as methodologies. If you try to use this methodology and/ or history as a tool of political analysis, be aware that you will be creating “discrediting propaganda”. I love it when Empires exonerate themselves a priori. What’s left to question when we know from the get go that Empire is only in the mind of the subversive propagandist?
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