Information Literacy through the Lens of Epistemic Justice: Centering the Missing and Unheard Voices of Marginalized Groups

Abstract

Drawing on recent teaching experiences in two intermediate-level classes, this paper showcases the ways through which librarians can help students interrogate structural issues in knowledge creation. Through class discussions and projects, students engaged with information at both individual sources and system levels. They confronted hidden assumptions and investigated how and why underprivileged communities were and remain marginalized in the dominant discourse. They were also challenged to think creatively about knowledge production as well as to seek out and center the experiences, stories, and voices of these communities. As a result, students understood that the voices of those who are disadvantaged or oppressed are often silenced and that their erasure from the dominant culture is inextricably linked to existing power structures. They came to appreciate different forms of knowledge and recognized their own agency in centering the voices of marginalized groups.