KNOWLEDGE, METHOD & POWER
Who gets to explain the world?
Knowledge is never neutral. The methods we credit, the evidence we accept, and the questions we think worth asking all shape what can be seen and done. This theme examines the relationship between ways of knowing and the distribution of power — whose knowledge counts, whose expertise is trusted, and whose frameworks define the problems development is asked to solve. Essays here read method and evidence as political, and ask what it would mean to take seriously the knowledge of those most affected by the decisions made in their name.
Essays in this theme
Knowledge, Method and Power
In the Age of AI Self Authorship Requires Refusal
My PhD focused on how people construct understandings and knowledges for themselves, and how these understandings shape policy. My central aim was to deconstruct an approach in international relations…
Dr Dinah Hippolyte
15 Sept 2026 · 6 min read
Knowledge, Method and Power
The Right to Be Devastatingly Disappointing: A Reflection on Professor Jason Arday
Over the past few months, the story of Professor Jason Arday has captured our attention, culminating in the tragedy of his untimely death at 41. The response from various sectors of the Black communit…
Dr Dinah Hippolyte
26 Aug 2026 · 6 min read
Knowledge, Method and Power
The Audacity Comes From Here: On emancipation, scaffolding and the work of self-authorship
What gives you the audacity? The audacity to enter unfamiliar spaces, convene conversations and develop ideas that exceed the boundaries others have drawn around your expertise. The audacity to believ…
Dr Dinah Hippolyte
1 Aug 2026 · 5 min read
Colonial Quiet
What Naomi Osaka Made Visible
On neutrality and the invisible cultural standards that shape sport. This photograph is now familiar. When tennis star Naomi Osaka walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon, it quickly made waves across t…
Dr Dinah Hippolyte
13 Jul 2026 · 3 min read