Epistemic Injustice from Afar: Rethinking the Denial of Armenian Genocide

• Published in: Social epistemology Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 120 - 132
• Main Author: Oranlı, Imge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04-03-2021; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Armenian genocide; Denial; Denialism; epistemic injustice; Epistemology; Genocide; Genocide denial; Ideology; Injustice; Interdisciplinary aspects; Justice; Perpetrators; testimonial injustice; Turkey
• ISSN: 0269-1728; 1464-5297
• DOI: 10.1080/02691728.2020.1839593

Genocide denialism is an understudied topic in the epistemic injustice scholarship; so are epistemic relations outside of the Euro-American context. This article proposes to bring the literature into contact with an underexplored topic in a 'distant' setting: Turkey. Here, I explore the ethical and epistemological implications of the Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide as a pervasive and systematic epistemic harm. Using an interdisciplinary methodology, I argue that a philosophical exploration of genocide denialism requires examining the role of institutions and ideology in relation to the epistemic harm done by individual perpetrators. More specifically, I suggest that the individual, ideological, and institutional roots of genocide denialism constitute a regime of epistemic injustice in Turkey.