Feminist epistemic cultures on the example of non-governmental organizations in Germany

Abstract

The sociological concept of the “epistemic culture” focuses on the production of scientific knowledge as well as knowledge functioning in other spaces. Feminist theory deals with the failure to consider gender as an analytical category in the production of the said knowledge in various spaces and contexts. Non-governmental organizations constitute one of these spaces, which also participate in the production of knowledge. Using the example of these organizations in Germany, the article focuses on feminist epistemic cultures. It is based on empirical qualitative research conducted using the grounded theory method. The article investigates the construction of the research subject, i.e. what feminist NGOs are, and presents laboratories for the production of feminist knowledge by NGOs.