The Right to Imagine Alternative Worlds: Mapping Epistemic and Social Justice in the 'Modern' World

My research will explore the relationship between social justice and epistemic justice. I will interrogate whether social justice is limited in its outcomes if it is not directly related to epistemological questions that challenge the very basis of what we conceive to be just. This will be explored through the lens of modernity and will involve a thorough textual analysis of Western philosophical principles that have come to shape the modern world. I will use Black Feminist Thought and Decolonial Theory as the theoretical frameworks through which to develop and analyse this work. I will interview Black British activists to ascertain how successful they feel their modes of activism have been and how commitments to social justice, and justice of knowledges have played out in their work. I intend for my work to be decolonial in both its subject matter and in how it is produced, as such; I will be carrying out an auto-ethnography using interactive interviews to challenge more conventional research methods and the production of sound knowledge. Essentially, I will explore the shortcomings of a system that teaches us that we can legislate towards justice though scarcely offers the room to imagine what the world could be like if we challenged the basis of knowledge, and not just the product of it. Activists are in need of alternative ideas as more and more become disillusioned with the system, this thesis will offer just that - new and exciting ideas.