Building on Miranda Fricker’s term “epistemic injustice,” Sherman (Brandeis Univ.) and Goguen (Northeastern Illinois Univ.) have collected a variety of scholarly writings dealing with specific epistemic injustices. The editors note that although a great deal of scholarship has already been devoted to analyses of epistemic injustice, their contribution has a unique interdisciplinary focus charging scholars to bring together their “ethical and epistemic arguments” using “empirical work and case studies.” The resulting volume is an intriguing and thought-provoking collection of articles on a variety of subjects including psychological tendencies, healthcare injustices, legal and correctional injustices, and injustices in academia. This collection would be most appropriate for a complete course involving justice issues, though for courses offering only one or two modules dealing with social justice, it also offers unique readings focused on how “we can do better.” The readings will elicit important conversations with students based on empirical data rather than problematic media information. It also contains interesting case studies with which students can wrestle.



Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

Choice Reviews

Overcoming Epistemic Injustice is a unique and valuable contribution. It brings philosophical questions to bear on how to combat epistemic injustice, and how to do so in specific contexts: in healthcare, the legal and correctional systems, education and academia, and sports. Daring, empirically-grounded, and solutions-oriented, it is a model for scholarship in pursuit of justice.

Michael Brownstein, Associate Professor of Philosophy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

One of the most pressing issues for addressing the complex intersections between oppression and forms of epistemic injustice is how such forms of injustice can be effectively resisted and ultimately overcome. Overcoming Epistemic Injustice augments current research by focusing on case studies of institutional structures that perpetuate epistemic harms. From medical and mental health institutions to the criminal justice system to the academy to implicit bias research, the authors of this distinctive collection offer insights regarding complex circulations of power and knowledge that provide resources for challenging such structures.

Nancy Tuana, DuPont/Class of 1949 Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University