Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain
<p>Conducted by royal commissions, select committees and the newly established inspectorates, early Victorian social investigations elaborated formats and procedures of public inquiry that left an enduring impact on modern, liberal public spheres in the English speaking world and beyond. This...
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Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
2017-06-01
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| Online Access: | http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/733 |
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doaj-dba70589a0694c849aa9a7176817599d2020-11-25T00:53:17ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712017-06-0172261276619Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian BritainOz Frankel0New School for Social Research<p>Conducted by royal commissions, select committees and the newly established inspectorates, early Victorian social investigations elaborated formats and procedures of public inquiry that left an enduring impact on modern, liberal public spheres in the English speaking world and beyond. This article revisits a few features of 19th Century official investigations, highlighting the rather diverse and contradictory effects these fact-seeking ventures had on British democratic culture. I argue that even as government inquiries confirmed and strengthen social gradations as well as hierarchies of knowledge and expertise, they nevertheless allowed the British lower classes to participate in official discourse as knowers, not just sufferers, and opened new possibilities for dissent and contestations. I highlight the manner in which the investigation itself rather than any consequent legislation or policy touched upon the administration of justice either by emulating court procedures or in terms of its epistemic labor.</p><hr /><p>Las investigaciones sociales de principio de la época victoriana dirigidas por comisiones reales, comités selectos y las inspecciones que se estaban creando entonces, elaboraron formatos y procedimientos de investigación pública que dejaron un impacto duradero en las esferas públicas modernas y liberales tanto en el mundo angloparlante como fuera de él. Este artículo revisa algunas características de las investigaciones oficiales del siglo XIX, resaltando los efectos diversos y contradictorios que estas iniciativas de búsqueda de hechos tuvieron en la cultura democrática británica. Se defiende que, a pesar de que las investigaciones gubernamentales confirmaron y reforzaron las escalas sociales y las jerarquías de conocimiento y experiencia, permitieron que las clases bajas británicas participaran en el discurso oficial como conocedores y no sólo víctimas, y abrieron nuevas posibilidades de disensión y lucha. Se destaca la forma en la que las propias investigaciones, más que cualquier legislación o política consiguiente, mencionaron de pasada la administración de justicia, emulando procedimientos judiciales o en su trabajo epistémico.</p> <p><strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN</strong>: <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=2958131" target="_blank">https://ssrn.com/abstract=2958131</a></p>http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/733social investigationsepistemic justice19th Century Britainroyal commissionsInvestigaciones socialesjusticia epistémicaGran BretañaS. XIXcomisiones reales |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Oz Frankel |
| spellingShingle |
Oz Frankel Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain Oñati Socio-Legal Series social investigations epistemic justice 19th Century Britain royal commissions Investigaciones sociales justicia epistémica Gran Bretaña S. XIX comisiones reales |
| author_facet |
Oz Frankel |
| author_sort |
Oz Frankel |
| title |
Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain |
| title_short |
Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain |
| title_full |
Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain |
| title_fullStr |
Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Vulnerable Populations, Social Investigations, and Epistemic Justice in Early Victorian Britain |
| title_sort |
vulnerable populations, social investigations, and epistemic justice in early victorian britain |
| publisher |
Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law |
| series |
Oñati Socio-Legal Series |
| issn |
2079-5971 |
| publishDate |
2017-06-01 |
| description |
<p>Conducted by royal commissions, select committees and the newly established inspectorates, early Victorian social investigations elaborated formats and procedures of public inquiry that left an enduring impact on modern, liberal public spheres in the English speaking world and beyond. This article revisits a few features of 19th Century official investigations, highlighting the rather diverse and contradictory effects these fact-seeking ventures had on British democratic culture. I argue that even as government inquiries confirmed and strengthen social gradations as well as hierarchies of knowledge and expertise, they nevertheless allowed the British lower classes to participate in official discourse as knowers, not just sufferers, and opened new possibilities for dissent and contestations. I highlight the manner in which the investigation itself rather than any consequent legislation or policy touched upon the administration of justice either by emulating court procedures or in terms of its epistemic labor.</p><hr /><p>Las investigaciones sociales de principio de la época victoriana dirigidas por comisiones reales, comités selectos y las inspecciones que se estaban creando entonces, elaboraron formatos y procedimientos de investigación pública que dejaron un impacto duradero en las esferas públicas modernas y liberales tanto en el mundo angloparlante como fuera de él. Este artículo revisa algunas características de las investigaciones oficiales del siglo XIX, resaltando los efectos diversos y contradictorios que estas iniciativas de búsqueda de hechos tuvieron en la cultura democrática británica. Se defiende que, a pesar de que las investigaciones gubernamentales confirmaron y reforzaron las escalas sociales y las jerarquías de conocimiento y experiencia, permitieron que las clases bajas británicas participaran en el discurso oficial como conocedores y no sólo víctimas, y abrieron nuevas posibilidades de disensión y lucha. Se destaca la forma en la que las propias investigaciones, más que cualquier legislación o política consiguiente, mencionaron de pasada la administración de justicia, emulando procedimientos judiciales o en su trabajo epistémico.</p> <p><strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN</strong>: <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=2958131" target="_blank">https://ssrn.com/abstract=2958131</a></p> |
| topic |
social investigations epistemic justice 19th Century Britain royal commissions Investigaciones sociales justicia epistémica Gran Bretaña S. XIX comisiones reales |
| url |
http://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/733 |
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