Critical Extension

Epistemological Approaches to an Alternative University Practice

Abstract

The article proposes to characterize the Critical Extension, as an alternative emerging modality, from an epistemological perspective. It characterizes its own knowledge of it as guided by an emancipatory interest, which implies processes of self-reflection, awareness, ideological criticism and praxis. It is practical knowledge for action and that is built in and from action. Its mode of production proposes an epistemology that recognizes the other as a knowing subject and reflexively legitimizes their silenced knowledge, proposing to include the point of view of the excluded and, therefore, an extended epistemology that articulates experiential, propositional, representational and practical knowledge, as well as scientific, popular, every day and native. The complexity of the socio-political problems addressed from Critical Extension calls for interdisciplinary approaches and the formation of communities of practice. Finally, other validation criteria for this type of knowledge are proposed, different from those considered in the field of classical extension: communicative validity, pragmatic operability, empowerment, congruence between different types of knowledge, and credibility.