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Islamophobia and Danish Academic Knowledge Production

Aaltonen, Sofie LU (2024) SOLM02 20241
Department of Sociology of Law
Abstract
This thesis aims to unpack Danish academic knowledge production at the individual,
institutional, societal, and systemic levels related to Islamophobia in Denmark. It raises central questions on the role of reflexivity in academic writing, employed epistemic frameworks, and autonomy of Danish academic knowledge production from law, politics, and media. Drawing on a theoretical framework around Islamophobia, decolonial reflexivity, and epistemic injustice, I analysed journal articles and public dissemination material produced by Danish academics through thematic categorisation using the software NVivo. The data was sampled referencing 12 regulatory themes in the socio-legal debate around the hijab, burqa/niqab, prayer, mosques, women-only... (More)
This thesis aims to unpack Danish academic knowledge production at the individual,
institutional, societal, and systemic levels related to Islamophobia in Denmark. It raises central questions on the role of reflexivity in academic writing, employed epistemic frameworks, and autonomy of Danish academic knowledge production from law, politics, and media. Drawing on a theoretical framework around Islamophobia, decolonial reflexivity, and epistemic injustice, I analysed journal articles and public dissemination material produced by Danish academics through thematic categorisation using the software NVivo. The data was sampled referencing 12 regulatory themes in the socio-legal debate around the hijab, burqa/niqab, prayer, mosques, women-only swimming, donations, halal food, circumcision, Muslim free-schools, housing, citizenship, and faith. I find a general lack of engagement with reflexivity in academic knowledge production, with those most likely to reveal how positionality shapes their research being white, non-Muslim women. The analysis reveals that the core academic debate does not centre on Islamophobia and that common epistemic frameworks largely negate processes of racialisation analytically. The analysis also suggests that those who engage with reflexivity are also those likely to address Islamophobia and racism through academic knowledge production. The data sampled suggest a notable absence of Muslim academic voices in research on the regulatory themes in Denmark. Such findings are argued to be indicative of both testimonial and hermeneutical injustice. Lastly, Danish academic knowledge production
on the regulation of Muslims in Denmark shows both autonomy and dependence on the societal and systematic sites of law, politics, and media. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Aaltonen, Sofie LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOLM02 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Denmark, Danish academic knowledge production, Islamophobia, decolonial reflexivity, epistemic injustice, socio-legal studies
language
English
id
9157176
date added to LUP
2024-06-19 12:51:27
date last changed
2024-06-19 12:51:27
@misc{9157176,
  abstract     = {{This thesis aims to unpack Danish academic knowledge production at the individual, 
institutional, societal, and systemic levels related to Islamophobia in Denmark. It raises central questions on the role of reflexivity in academic writing, employed epistemic frameworks, and autonomy of Danish academic knowledge production from law, politics, and media. Drawing on a theoretical framework around Islamophobia, decolonial reflexivity, and epistemic injustice, I analysed journal articles and public dissemination material produced by Danish academics through thematic categorisation using the software NVivo. The data was sampled referencing 12 regulatory themes in the socio-legal debate around the hijab, burqa/niqab, prayer, mosques, women-only swimming, donations, halal food, circumcision, Muslim free-schools, housing, citizenship, and faith. I find a general lack of engagement with reflexivity in academic knowledge production, with those most likely to reveal how positionality shapes their research being white, non-Muslim women. The analysis reveals that the core academic debate does not centre on Islamophobia and that common epistemic frameworks largely negate processes of racialisation analytically. The analysis also suggests that those who engage with reflexivity are also those likely to address Islamophobia and racism through academic knowledge production. The data sampled suggest a notable absence of Muslim academic voices in research on the regulatory themes in Denmark. Such findings are argued to be indicative of both testimonial and hermeneutical injustice. Lastly, Danish academic knowledge production 
on the regulation of Muslims in Denmark shows both autonomy and dependence on the societal and systematic sites of law, politics, and media.}},
  author       = {{Aaltonen, Sofie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Islamophobia and Danish Academic Knowledge Production}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}