Epistemic Disobedience

Black academics are still being asked to prove they belong in institutions built to exclude them. This conversation traces that violence through the tragic death of Professor Jason Arday and then turns the lens on Carl Jung, asking why some thinkers are forgiven, protected, and canonized while others are discarded for far less.

What happens when institutions decide that some people are redeemable and others are disposable? Who receives grace, and how can DEI become a genuine power-sharing initiative? How can we reckon honestly with a thinker’s racism while continuing to engage with his work?

This episode provides a thought-provoking examination of how knowledge is influenced by those who define it, the politics surrounding universities, the process of decolonization, and the systems that continue to shape our understanding of humanity. Drawing on Carl Jung and his research in ethnology, Martha and Dean explore how colonial ideas have shaped modern views of culture, difference, and the concept of the “other.” They particularly focus on how imperial histories, racial assumptions, and academic power have shaped the social sciences, emphasizing the ongoing relevance of figures like Franz Boas, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Paul Gilroy in today’s discussions.

In this episode, Martha & Dean discuss the concept of the Ally.

How does allyship reproduce the very hierarchies it claims to oppose? Who benefits from the label? What does it cost the person wearing it, and what does it extract from the people it targets or claims to support? What are your thoughts on Ally and allyship? Let us know in the comments section.