Epistemic justice in international social work research: Postcolonial theory and analytic strategies

Abstract

Scholars have long grappled with the ways in which unequal power relations influence the creation and circulation of international social work knowledge. I outline a robust postcolonial theoretical framework to elucidate complexities of global knowledge and power and extend possibilities for considering such questions of epistemic justice. Drawing on my own research with service providers in Nepal, I suggest three analytic strategies to apply postcolonial insights in international social work research: reflexivity, critical discourse analysis, and postcolonial translation. Postcolonial theory and the strategies provided support social work researchers to comprehend, generate, and disseminate knowledge that can disrupt colonial assumptions.