What is epistemicide? A introduction to the concept for the field of Information Science

Abstract

Epistemicide is an open concept because it is in the process of permanent dialectization. Initially associated with the exercises of power and violence against knowledge called subaltern or abyssal, the concept expands and epistemicidal extensions can be researched in several areas of knowledge, including Information Science. Thus, this article develops an epistemological reflection on the concept of epistemicide from a critical-theoretical point of view. For that, it is necessary to understand some decolonial theoretical bases and what they talk about the instances of power of information and knowledge. The central question is based on the dilemmas of complexity, the limits of interpretation and the legitimation of spaces for the meaning of thought in the face of the urgency of debate in scientific contexts. As this is an exploratory and qualitative research, references from the general literature on the subject and specific from Information Science were selected. The analysis of this referential followed the procedures of literature review and problematization, used the hermeneutic-reflective method to arrive at the theoretical-epistemological positions on the concept of epistemicide. The results indicate that the topic is discussed at the specialized literature in the area. In the discussion, points of convergence were identified with the colonial dialectical process of maintaining the dominant culture in different ways, which requires an epistemologically critical position in Information Science. It concludes that it is necessary to exercise an epistemological reflection without disregarding positions on border lines or even opposites. The article contributes to highlight the concept of epistemicide in information studies