1st Edition
Literature and Ecofeminism Intersectional and International Voices
Bringing together ecofeminism and ecological literary criticism (ecocriticism), this book presents diverse ways of understanding and responding to the tangled relationships between the personal, social, and environmental dimensions of human experience and expression.
Literature and Ecofeminism explores the intersections of sexuality, gender, embodiment, and the natural world articulated in literary works from Shakespeare through to contemporary literature. Bringing together essays from a global group of contributors, this volume draws on American literature, as well as Spanish, South African, Taiwanese, and Indian literature, in order to further the dialogue between ecofeminism and ecocriticism and demonstrate the ongoing relevance of ecofeminism for facilitating critical readings of literature. In doing so, the book opens up multiple directions for ecofeminist ideas and practices, as well as new possibilities for interpreting literature.
This comprehensive volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecocriticism, ecofeminism, literature, gender studies, and the environmental humanities.
Editor’s Preface Sam Mickey; Foreword Greta Gaard; Introduction Patrick D. Murphy; 1. Like a creature native": Ophelia’s Death and Ecofeminism Lesley Kordecki 2. Anna Letitia Barbauld’s Ecological Sensibility Calley A. Hornbuckle 3. Mary Austin’s Proto-Ecofeminist Land Ethic in ‘The Ford’ (1917) and The Owens Valley Water Controversy Emine Geçgil 4. T.S. Eliot, ecofeminist Etienne Terblanche 5. Ecofeminist Philosophy and Issues of Identity in Sylvia Townsend Warner's ‘Lolly Willowes’ and ‘Mr. Fortune's Maggot’ Julia Tofantšuk 6. "Taking mighty strides across the world": Positioning Zora Neale Hurston in the Ecofeminist Tradition Nicole Anae 7. Ecofeminist Sensibilities and Rural Land Literacies in the Work of Contemporary Appalachian Novelist Ann Pancake Theresa L. Burriss 8. Essentialist Tropes in ‘At Play in the Fields of the Lord’ Karl Zuelke 9. Cyborg-goddesses, Linda Hogan’s ‘Indios’, and Jade Chen’s ‘Mazu’s Body-guards’ Peter I-min Huang 10. Wolves, Singing Trees, and Replicants: Ecofeminist Readings of Contemporary Spanish Novels Carmen Flys Junquera 11. Ecofeminist Moorings in Globalized India: Literary Discourse and Interpretations Swapna Gopinath, Sony Jalarajan Raj, and Soumya Jose 12. The Vocation of Healing: The Poetry of Malika Ndlovu Deirdre Byrne 13. Grace Nichols and Jackie Kay’s Corporeal Black Venus: Feminist Ecocritical Realignments Izabel F.O. Brandão; Afterword: Ecofeminism through Literary Activism, Hybridity, Connections, and Caring Anna Bedford
Biography
Douglas A. Vakoch is President of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence), a nonprofit dedicated to transmitting intentional signals to nearby stars, as well as fostering sustainability of human civilization on multigenerational timescales—a prerequisite for a project that could take centuries or millennia to succeed.
Sam Mickey is Adjunct Professor, Theology and Religious Studies and Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco, USA.
"Literature and Ecofeminism: Intersectional and International Voices is a narrative symbiosis of literary and scholarly voices converging on ecofeminist thought. Dealing with various themes, issues, and concerns of ecofeminism, the 13 chapters weave truly compelling connections across different literary voices. The international scholars who make up this collection bring forward the ecofeminist voices of Native American, African American, English, Scottish, American, Taiwanese, Caribbean, Spanish, Indian, and South African writers in powerful and dynamic ways. The topics are diverse and refreshing, covering Shakespeare’s Ophelia, 18th century British critic Anna Letitia Barbauld, Mary Austin, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Zora Neale Hurston, Ann Pancake, Peter Matthiessen, Linda Hogan, Jade Chen, and, surprisingly, T.S. Eliot. They all help expand the repertoire of ecofeminism in this skillfully prepared collection." — Serpil Oppermann, Professor of English, Hacettepe University, Turkey and President of EASLCE
"Ever since its origins, ecofeminism has advocated for the dismantling of all the interweaved forms of oppression that encapsulate women, nonhuman animals, marginal humans, and whatever subject has been marked as "other" by dominants systems of power, including the earth. Merging with literary studies, these emancipatory stances have found their narratives and new critical landscapes. With its rich plurality of angles and visions, Literature and Ecofeminism: Intersectional and International Voices continues to enrich this seminal conversation, demonstrating the key role of feminist ecocriticism in shaping creative epistemologies of liberation that are essential to the imagination of our time." — Serenella Iovino, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Turin, Italy
