Insurgent epistemologies

decoloniality and intersectionality in memories of the plantation

Abstract

This paper proposes an investigation into decolonial epistemology based on an analysis of Grada Kilomba's work "Plantation Memories." The research begins with the following question: how does the coloniality of knowledge structure the criteria of legitimacy in the epistemological field? The aim is to investigate how social markers of race, gender, and class influence the production and validation of scientific knowledge. The relevance of this research is solidified in the need to value subalternized epistemologies, thus promulgating the deconstruction of paradigms affected by epistemic colonialism that hegemonize science. The theoretical framework was based on works that bring with them decolonial and intersectional perspectives. The methodology consisted of a qualitative comparative analysis, focusing on the exploration of the work of "Plantation Memories," which articulates literature, autobiography, and social critique as forms of knowledge production. The aim was to highlight the epistemological potential of Memórias da Plantação to question scientific normativity and claim other ways of narrating, thinking and validating experiences as belonging to the scientific space.