New Directions for Ecofeminism: Toward a More Feminist Ecocriticism

Citation:

Gaard, Greta. 2010. “New Directions for Ecofeminism: Toward a More Feminist Ecocriticism.” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 17 (4): 643-65.

Author: Greta Gaard

Annotation:

Summary:
"In both Simon Estok’s provocative essay, “Theorizing in a Space of Ambivalent Openness: Ecocriticism and Ecophobia” (2009), as well as Joni Adamson and Scott Slovic’s “The Shoulders We Stand On: An Introduction to Ethnicity and Ecocriticism” (2009), we are offered two readings of ecocritical history, suggesting real or desired relations among various ecocritical perspectives. In these discussions, feminism is variously referenced—sometimes it is implied or addressed, other times it is backgrounded, omitted, or even distorted. Similarly, in the two book-length introductions to ecocriticism to date, Lawrence Buell’s The Future of Environmental Criticism (2005) and Greg Garrard’s Ecocriticism (2004), the retelling of ecocritical roots and developments marginalizes both feminist and ecofeminist literary perspectives. Such presentations (and misrepresentations) of feminist scholarship by collegial ecocritics warn of a larger potential for misreading or omission by broader audiences, hence the importance of both correcting the historical record and actively contributing to the future of ecocriticism. In this essay, I would like to suggest at least seven new directions, or continued developments, for ecofeminist and feminist ecocritics" (Gaard 2010, 643).

Topics: Environment, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Women, Race Regions: Americas Countries: United States of America

Year: 2010