Workshop on Yvette Butler’s “Epistemic Appropriation, Critical Defanging, and Lessons for a Responsive New Reconstruction”

Yvette Butler, Epistemic Appropriation, Critical Defanging, and Lessons for a Responsive New Reconstruction.

Solum’s Download of the Week for June 7, 2025. Available on SSRN.

This is a synthetic academic workshop generated using enTalkenator (a variation of the Workshop template, using the Google Gemini 2.5 Pro). Somewhat hilariously, the text to speech, using OpenAI’s tts models. often pronounces “defanging” as “de-FANGE-ing.” I used one Google Gemini voice this time, and it gets it right (even though it otherwise doesn’t sound as good to my ears). But I’m sharing with you all the workshop it made, warts and all.

Abstract: “This essay examines how epistemic appropriation undermines collective liberation and perpetuates a Cycle of Epistemic Oppression in law. Drawing on metaphors from Dragon Age Inquisition, a fantasy role-playing video game, I illustrate how values like Wisdom, Purpose, and Justice can be corrupted when detached and misdirected from their essential natures. Similarly, the concept of epistemic appropriation is apparent when marginalized knowers’ contributions are detached from their original context and misdirected to serve dominant interests. This concept is introduced through two case studies: Black women hair braiders whose narratives are used by advocacy groups to advance deregulatory agendas, and the Supreme Court's appropriation of Critical Race Theory critiques of racial categories in college admissions cases. Ultimately, the transformative potential of marginalized knowers’ contributions is neutralized through ‘critical defanging.’ The essay concludes by proposing that achieving collective liberation requires genuine curiosity, epistemic responsibility, and the recognition of knowledge contributions from marginalized communities without extracting them from their critical and resistant elements. This approach would help bridge divides between academics, institutions, communities, and individuals in co-creating liberatory futures.”