Re-thinking Research: Knowledge, Power, & Diversity (in person)

Why do we need to re-think research? And what might we discover if we look closely at how knowledge is made, valued, and legitimised—and whose knowledge gets taken seriously?

This workshop explores the relationship between knowledge, power, and diversity. Research does not happen in a vacuum. Universities, journals, funders, disciplines, and systems of reward shape what gets researched, recognised, and remembered. These structures are shaped by historical, material, and epistemic forms of power, privileging some ways of knowing while marginalising others.

Together, we will ask: Who decides what counts as “good” research? What assumptions and standards underpin those decisions? Who benefits from the current system, who is problematised or excluded, and what knowledge—and possible solutions—might be lost as a result?

We will also explore why the status quo persists, what needs to change, and how we might begin to re-imagine research itself.