This essay critically examines how knowledge, power, and resistance intersect, with a focus on multimodal scholarship and digital literacies as tools to challenge oppressive educational and socio-political narratives. It explores the dual role of knowledge as both a mechanism of domination and a pathway to liberation, particularly for marginalized communities whose histories and identities have been systematically erased.

Grounded in feminist epistemologies and Critical Race Theory, this paper unpacks how dominant power structures manipulate knowledge by prioritizing elite perspectives while silencing other contrary and diverse voices. Multimodal storytelling and digital media offer critical spaces to reclaim these suppressed narratives, foster resistance against censorship and erasure in a politically charged environment. Entire communities face denial of their existence.

Through digital literacies and multimodal approaches, the paper envisions reshaping social narratives to challenge established power dynamics. By transcending the dominance of text-based knowledge, multimodal scholarship makes knowledge more accessible, participatory, and inclusive and provides a platform for diverse stories to reshape norms, creating a more equitable and inclusive education system, and society. Ultimately, the paper underscores knowledge as both a weapon of oppression and a tool of resistance, calling for collective action to amplify marginalized voices and dismantle exclusionary systems.

Note to reader: To view the whole essay, click on the image or the “view pdf” button. I have also attached a glossary of key terms that are often used in the essay with their respective definitions.