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.