DOI: 10.18848/2325-1328/cgp/a247 ISSN: 2325-1360

“Knowing More Than We Can Tell”

Anne Marchand
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This article explores knowledge hierarchies in academia, where codified knowledge has historically tended to be privileged over tacit, experiential, and embodied forms of knowing. Codified knowledge refers to information that is formalized, documented, and easily communicated in words, numbers, or written forms, whereas tacit knowledge encompasses practical know-how, skills, and embodied expertise that are often context-specific and difficult to express. Using an autoethnographic approach informed by long-term collaborations (2010–present) with members and organizations of Indigenous communities in Québec, Canada, and engaging with Indigenous, feminist, and poststructuralist critiques and perspectives, it reflects on the structural and historical reasons underlying the dominance of codified knowledge. The researcher’s lived experience serves as the point of departure for the literature-based discussion. The article offers a conceptual and reflexive contribution and does not draw on primary empirical data. Rather than positioning design as the primary object of inquiry, it mobilizes its epistemic practices to inform a broader reflection on academic research. It discusses how design could serve as a privileged space to challenge such hierarchies by offering plural modes of knowledge production and dissemination. As a way forward, the article proposes an interdisciplinary, exploratory design-based research project that investigates alternative research output formats, particularly in light of emerging digital technologies that enable new ways of producing, validating, sharing, and valuing knowledge. The core contribution of this article is to reframe research outputs as a key locus where the hierarchy between codified and tacit knowledge is enacted and can be transformed.

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