Panel: RELIGION AS "SITUATED KNOWLEDGE" IN SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION



392.4 - RELIGION AS SITUATED KNOWLEDGE: ON THE GENEALOGY OF THE CONCEPT

AUTHORS:
Prof Dr Ernst-Auga U. (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin ~ Berlin ~ Germany)
Text:
Building on Donna Haraway's concept of situated knowledge, Ulrike Ernst-Auga first introduced the notion of religion as situated knowledge in 2012. In the same year, she also brought the idea of religion as an intersectional category into academic debate for the first time. This paper offers a comprehensive synthesis of her work from 2012 to 2025, tracing the development of an epistemology of religion and gender informed by poststructuralist, postcolonial, postsecular, and gender studies perspectives. Following Ernst-Auga's foundational contributions, the International Research Training Group "Transformative Religion: Religion as Situated Knowledge in Processes of Social Transformation" (IRTG 2706/1) was established at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her work has since gained significant scholarly traction, revealing surprising epistemic landscapes, knowledge migrations, and epistemological ruptures along its trajectory. This panel provides a valuable opportunity to further explore and apply this evolving epistemological framework.