Beyond empty signifiers: Reclaiming social justice as an academic pursuit in higher education

Abstract

This paper critically examines the proliferation of terms such as “social justice” within higher education discourse, arguing that they often function as “empty signifiers”, concepts stripped of their theoretical depth and transformative potential. The paper uses a narrative approach to explore how these buzzwords can obscure, rather than illuminate, the path to genuine educational transformation. The analysis is grounded in a tripartite theoretical framework, combining Ernesto Laclau’s theory of empty signifiers, Nancy Fraser’s model of social justice, and the capabilities approach advanced by Amartya Sen. I invoke Joan Tronto's political ethic of care as essential to operationalising transformation, as a democratic practice involving attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. I argue that a more robust and transformative decolonial praxis requires moving beyond superficial signifiers to a deeper engagement with epistemic justice informed by Southern epistemologies. The paper concludes that genuine transformation requires addressing the intersecting dimensions of maldistribution, misrecognition, and misrepresentation while centering the capabilities approach and an ethic of care in pedagogical practice.