Scholarly knowledge production is often shaped by dynamics of marginalization, where scholars from the Two-thirds worlds often feel excluded from mainstream academic conversations. This exclusion happens at multiple levels—individual, institutional, and structural—leading to epistemic injustices that limit the recognition and inclusion of diverse knowledge systems. These processes of epistemic exclusion are deeply intertwined with intersecting identities, structural inequalities, and power relations that shape who is seen as a credible scholar and what research is valued (Settles et al., 2020; Dotson, 2014). This Professional Development Workshop (PDW) brings to the forefront the lived experiences of scholars from the Two-thirds worlds as they navigate and challenge the systemic epistemic injustices and exclusions prevalent in academia. Using storytelling as a method, four scholars at different career stages will share their personal academic journeys, highlighting the ways in which their work has been marginalized due to the intersecting factors of geography, race, gender, and socio-economic status. Their narratives will reflect on how epistemic exclusion—the devaluation of non-Western knowledge and the underrepresentation of marginalized scholars—manifests at individual, institutional, and structural levels, affecting their ability to fully participate in global knowledge production. In line with feminist epistemologies, this PDW will also emphasize the actions they are taking to foster epistemic inclusion for future generations. This PDW seeks to raise awareness of the systemic nature of epistemic injustice and provide participants with concrete tools to challenge and dismantle these barriers in their own academic environments.
