Epistemic Reparations and the Right to be Known in Post-Apartheid South Africa

The African Centre for Epistemology of Philosophy of Science (ACEPS) at the University of Johannesburg invites abstract submissions for:

Epistemic Reparations and the Right to be Known in Post-Apartheid South Africa

ACEPS and Hector Pieterson Community Centre (Soweto)

20–22nd June 2024

Keynotes

Jennifer Lackey 

Antoinette Sithole

Call for Abstracts

We live in a world riddled with epistemic wrongs, from the incidental put down of a marginal voice to the systematic extinction of whole knowledge systems and the continued epistemic disempowerment of whole populations through colonialism and racism. This event brings into dialogue philosophers and community members in order to theorise reparations for such distinctively epistemic wrongs (20th June), and start on actual reparative work in the context of post-Apartheid South Africa (21st and 22nd June).

Epistemic reparations are “intentionally reparative actions in the form of epistemic goods given to those epistemically wronged by parties who acknowledge these wrongs and whose reparative actions are intended to redress them” (Lackey 2022, Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association). The paradigm of such reparations is when victims of gross human rights violations exercise their ‘right to be known’­—the right to tell their story in the way and the space they choose, with the corresponding duty perpetrators have to bear witness. Two days of the event will, thus, feature apartheid activists, their children and grandchildren telling their stories through talks, discussion, and art.

We invite abstracts from philosophers for the first day of this event.

Funding

This event is a part of the Epistemic Reparations Global Working Group supported by the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. It is also the fourth event of a three-year collaboration on Epistemic Wrongs, Blame, and Reparations between Jennifer Lackey (Northwestern University), Cameron Boult (Brandon University), and Veli Mitova (University of Johannesburg).

Abstracts length: max 500 words

Submission deadline: 31 March 2024

Notification of acceptance: 15 April 2024

Email to: [email protected]

Grad funding: Accepted grad students will be at least partially funded.