Dr. Melanie Altanian
Melanie Altanian is assistant professor for epistemology and theory of science. Her areas of specialization are social and political epistemology, moral philosophy, and social philosophy.
- 2021–2023: Research Assistant (Horizon 2020 Project “Policy, Expertise, and Trust in Action”, PI: Maria Baghramian), School of Philosophy, University College Dublin
- 2021–2022: Guest Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Universität Luzern
- 2020–2021: Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Philosophy, University College Dublin
- 2020: Doctor of Philosophy, Universität Bern
- 10/2018–03/2019: Visiting Researcher, Chair of Practical Philosophy and Ethics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- 04–07/2017: Visiting Researcher, Chair of Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Law, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
- 2015: Master of Arts in Political, Legal and Economic Philosophy, Universität Bern
- 2012: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (Major) and Social Sciences (Minor), Universität Bern
Forthcoming
- Do we need a ‘European Political Epistemology’? (with Frieder Vogelmann)
Contribution to edited volume The European Face of Political Epistemology (Palgrave Macmillan; edited by Hana Samaržija and Robin McKenna) - Welche Einsichten kann uns The Racial Contract in Bezug auf den armenischen Völkermord und seine anhaltende Leugnung liefern? (Mitautorin: Imge Oranli)
Beitrag zum Sammelband Nachruf: Charles Mills (transcript Verlag; herausgegeben von Hilkje C. Hänel)
In Preparation
- A critical (re-)assessment of instituitonal epistemic humility: lessons from a pandemic crisis (co-author: Silvia Ivani)
- Historical scholarship, survivor testimony, and epistemically (un)just source criticism.
Article contribution to Gatekeeping in Science, a special issue for Synthese (edited by Katherine Dormandy and Eric Winsberg) - The Rohingya struggle against genocide denial and state-imposed identities: An ontological and epistemological analysis.
Chapter contribution for Politics of Denial and Non-recognition of Genocide: The Case of the Rohingya People (edited by Nasir Uddin, Palash Kamruzzaman and Bayes Ahmed)
Books & Edited Volumes
- The Epistemic Injustice of Genocide Denialism. London and New York: Routledge, 2024. Open Access.
- Testimonial Injustice and Trust. Edited by Melanie Altanian and Maria Baghramian. London and New York: Routledge, 2024.
Articles & Book Chapters
- Précis und Replik zu den Kommentaren (Buchdiskussion zu The Epistemic Injustice of Genocide Denialism). Zeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung 79 (2, 2025): 251–254, 270–273.
- Rethinking the Right to Know and the Case for Restorative Epistemic Reparation. Journal of Social Philosophy 55 (4, 2024): 728–745. Open Access.
- Genozidleugnung: Organisiertes Vergessen oder Substanzielle Erkenntnispraxis? Zeitschrift für Praktische Philosophie 9 (1, 2022): 251–278. Open Access.
- Remembrance and Denial of Genocide: On the Interrelations of Testimonial and Hermeneutical Injustice. International Journal of Philosophical Studies 29 (4, 2021): 595–612.
- Genocide Denial as Testimonial Oppression. Social Epistemology 35 (2, 2021): 133–146.
- Genocide Denialism as an Intergenerational Injustice. In Thomas Cottier, Shaheeza Lalani & Clarence Siziba (eds.), Intergenerational Equity: Environmental and Cultural Concerns, 67–89. Boston: Brill Nijhoff, 2019.
Summer Term 2025
Seminar: Theory of Culture
Winter Term 2024/25
Seminar: Arrogant, Closed-Minded, Dogmatic: Introducing Vice Epistemology
Summer Term 2024
Seminar: Theory of Culture
Seminar: Wissen, Sexualität und Identitäten. Linda Martín Alcoffs radikal gegenwärtige Philosophie (mit Frieder Vogelmann)
Winter Term 2023/24
Seminar: The Right (Not) To Know
Spring Trimester 2023 (at University College Dublin, Ireland)
Lecture: Applied Epistemology
Spring Term 2022 (at University of Lucerne, Switzerland)
Hauptseminar: Leugnung und Unwissen
Fall Term 2021 (at University of Lucerne, Switzerland)
Proseminar: Epistemische Ungerechtigkeiten
Lecture Series
PLAY NOW / Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Games and Gamification
Winter Semester 2025/26, University of Freiburg
Event Page Coming Soon
Book Symposium
The Epistemic Injustice of Genocide Denialism
November 11, 2024, University of Freiburg
Workshop
Institutional Virtues, Political Decision-Making, and Communication under Uncertainty
March 15, 2024, University of Freiburg/University College Dublin (Online)
Workshop
Ethics and Epistemology of Ignorance
April 26-27, 2022, University College Dublin (Hybrid)
Workshop
Recognition and Epistemic Injustice
June 25, 2021, University College Dublin (Online)
Workshop
Themes From Testimonial Injustice and Trust
June 17–18, 2021, UCD Centre for Ethics in Public Life (Online)
Go to special issue for the International Journal of Philosophical Studies
Workshop
Epistemic Injustice in the Aftermath of Collective Wrongdoing
December 6–7, 2019, University of Bern
Conference
Aufarbeitung historischer Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit: Der Armeniergenozid
April 30–May 2, 2015, University of Bern
- Blog Post “Misremembering Wrongdoing: The Case of Genocide Denialism” (The Memory Palace Blog, October 1, 2024)
- Two-Part Blog Post “Genocide Denialism, Prolonged Trauma, and Retraumatization” (Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare Project Blog, June 12 + June 19, 2024)
- Blog Post “A Case against the Argument from ‘Collective Amnesia’ and ‘Forgetting’” (Open for Debate Blog by Cardiff University, May 15, 2023)
- Interview “Genozid an den Armeniern: Verstehen und Anerkennen” (with Jeanette Ehrmann and Veronika Zablotsky, Frankfurter Rundschau, March 8, 2022)
- Article “Genozid Benennen” (Neue Wege Magazine, December 2020)