The Megaproject of Mining: A Feminist Critique

Citation:

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala. 2011. “The Megaproject of Mining: A Feminist Critique.” In Engineering Earth, edited by Stanley D. Brunn, 329–51. New York: Springer.

Author: Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

Abstract:

Mining has been the original human endeavor of engineering; tools are an integral part of the project of mining itself. Most contemporary mining projects continue to be characterized by the intensive use of technology and capital, and have come to symbolize the evils of neoliberal development. Consequently, a host of ideologies and approaches to development have battled with each other on the mine sites, especially as they increasingly break new grounds in third world countries. This paper critiques this megaproject of mining from a feminist perspective, and problematizes the interface between mining and gender in a bid to re-humanize the mining landscape. The critique rests on illuminating the naturalization of men through masculinized representations of mining as work, the masculinity of the miner, re-interpretations of gender-selective impacts of mining projects, and on exploring how technology in mining interacts differently with women and men.

(Abstract from Springer Link)

Topics: Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Gender, Men, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods

Year: 2011