situated knowledge
knowledge that is embedded in, and thus affected by, the concrete historical, cultural, linguistic, and value context of the knowing person. The term is used most frequently in perspectives arising from social constructionism, radical feminism, and postmodernism to emphasize their view that absolute, universal knowledge is impossible. It sometimes carries the further implication that social, cultural, and historical factors will constrain the process of knowledge construction itself. To the extent that knowledge is situated, it is difficult to avoid some kind of epistemological relativism.