This powerful directive stresses the importance of marginalized groups developing their own understandings and narratives, rather than accepting definitions dictated by dominant powers. It's about intellectual liberation and agency.
Quote by Patricia Hill Collins: “Knowledge must be self‑defined, not imposed.”
Knowledge must be self‑defined, not imposed.
Insight
Historical Context
The early 1990s was a period when marginalized communities globally asserted the right to self-determination in intellectual and cultural spheres, challenging dominant narratives. Collins champions the necessity for oppressed groups to create and validate their own forms of knowledge.
About the Author
American sociologist and scholar whose 1990 work Black Feminist Thought synthesized intersectional theory and Black women's intellectual traditions. Her framework of the matrix of domination transformed feminist sociology and the study of race, class, and gender.
View all quotes by Patricia Hill Collins