This paper examines how epistemic violence shapes the agency of Muslim female students of immigrant backgrounds within Canadian universities, challenging the dominant narrative of higher education as an inclusive and equitable space. Drawing on qualitative research based on 54 semi-structured interviews, the study identifies two key configurations through which agency becomes constrained: constrained conformity and self-delegitimation. These patterns reveal how pressures of self-surveillance and internalized hegemonic norms operate beneath official discourses of diversity and inclusion. Academic success, often portrayed as a pathway to equality and belonging, emerges in participants’ narratives as a burden of social survival rather than empowerment. By unpacking these subtle dynamics of epistemic violence, the paper highlights the asymmetries in agency that shape students’ possibilities for belonging and voice. The study contributes to the field of academic development by advancing a critical understanding of inclusion that goes beyond access and representation, urging universities to engage more deeply with the epistemic and affective dimensions of equity in higher education.

Authors:
Fahimeh Darchinian, Université de Montréal, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Fahimeh Darchinian is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Université de Montréal, Canada.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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