Literature and Ecofeminism: Intersectional and International Voices

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

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

Editor(s) Bio

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.