Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Philosophy

Advisor

Jesse Prinz

Committee Members

Miranda Fricker

Eric Mandelbaum

Subject Categories

Epistemology | Feminist Philosophy

Abstract

In this project, I will explore how victims of sexual violence have faced epistemic injustices by reviewing the histories of two advocacy movements aimed at improving collective understanding of those experiences. In doing so, I will consider how those very activist movements may have introduced new epistemic lacunas and, even while successfully addressing some injustices, committed further epistemic wrongs as well. I will explore forms of hermeneutical resistance used by victims of sexual violence and their advocates. While these methods of resistance have been discussed elsewhere, I contribute to this ongoing work by applying these ideas to new examples. Finally, I will explore pitfalls of select methods of resistance commonly used by activists, and in doing so I will define some novel kinds of epistemic harm and expand upon others that have been described elsewhere.

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