Literature and Epistemic Injustice

"Literature and Epistemic Injustice adeptly interweaves theory with rich readings of contemporary novels to give timely, vital insights into literature's role in both revealing oppression and countering it. Colvin urgently reminds us of what defines our humanity through and across difference––our need to share, learn, and be heard through stories."

-Didem Uca, Assistant Professor of German Studies, Emory University, USA

“Sarah Colvin’s Literature and Epistemic Injustice is an intellectually powerful examination of how contemporary fiction discloses the operations of epistemic injustice and articulates forms of resistance to it. The study moves confidently between ethics, political theory, narratology, and global literatures, treating the selected novels as rich sources of insight. Colvin positions contemporary fiction as an active participant in debates about knowledge and power. A central achievement of the book is its clear demonstration that epistemic injustice functions as a deliberate and strategic practice of authoritarian power. At the same time, the emphasis on narrative meaning-making as a form of resistance is one of the book’s strongest conceptual threads. Overall, the monograph is rigorous, generous, and lucid. It offers a persuasive account of how literature intervenes in the politics of knowledge and power and presents storytelling as a vital practice that restores the capacity to think, feel, and interpret in conditions designed to obstruct those capacities. It stands as a significant contribution to literary studies, ethics, and contemporary political analysis.”

-Pavlo Shopin, Associate Professor, Mykhailo Drahomanov State University of Ukraine