The knowledge of experience : Exploring epistemic diversity in digital health, participatory medicine, and environmental research

This book explores the role of social and epistemic diversity in science, technology, and medicine in the 21st century. It argues that most contemporary endeavours to democratize science are epistemically conservative. Using illustrative case studies, Dr Dana Mahr shows how epistemic diversity can contribute to a renewal of the production of scientific knowledge. Her exploration of online self-help cultures, radical feminist health movements, and grassroots environmentalism in Thailand emphasize that "experiential knowledge" and "performativity" are important epistemic strategies for marginalized social groups to critically engage with institutionalized knowledge. Dana Mahr is Assistant Professor at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Her research centres on how marginalised social groups make sense of the normative aspects of science and technology. Against the backdrop of personal experiences, she advocates for the betterment of the healthcare structures for LGBTQIA+ individuals in Germany and Switzerland Preface Contents List of Figures 1: Introduction References 2: Why Is Science the Way It Is Today? 2.1 Epistemic Conservatism 2.2 What Are Scientific Facts? 2.3 PUS: Problematic Understanding of Science 2.4 Lost Trust and the Escape from Ambiguity 2.5 Populism and Participation: Two Sides of the Same Coin 2.6 Experiential Knowledge: A New Chance for Epistemic Diversity? References 3: Digital Resilience 3.1 The Third Wave of Self-Help Culture 3.2 Exploring Participatory Online Health Platforms Sharing Culture The Epistemology of Self-Reporting Alternative Platforms Activism in Participatory Online Health Platforms Autonomy and the Limitations of the Health Platform Economy 3.3 Sense-Making 3.4 The Dilemma of Data 3.5 Conclusion References 4: Radical Feminist Movements and the Re-Imagination of Performative Epistemology 4.1 “Other” People and Social “Parallel Worlds” 4.2 Unknown Bodies 4.3 Feminist Symbolism Women’s Health Movement Reloaded? 4.4 Conclusion References 5: Thai Baan Research: Locality as a Key for Diversity 5.1 The Pak Mun Dam 5.2 How to Do Science for the People by the People? 5.3 Alternative Knowledge and Political Empowerment 5.4 Conclusion References 6: Summary References References