Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy

by Greta Gaard (Editor), Paul F. Diehl (Contributor), Jack S. Levy (Contributor)

Ecofeminist Literary Criticism is the first collection of its a diverse anthology that explores both how ecofeminism can enrich literary criticism and how literary criticism can contribute to ecofeminist theory and activism. Ecofeminism is a practical movement for social change that discerns interconnections among all forms of the exploitation of nature, the oppression of women, class exploitation, racism, colonialism. Against binary divisions such as self/other, culture/nature, man/woman, humans/animals, and white/non-white, ecofeminist theory asserts that human identity is shaped by more fluid relationships and by an acknowledgment of both connection and difference. Once considered the province of philosophy and women's studies, ecofeminism in recent years has been incorporated into a broader spectrum of academic discourse. Ecofeminist Literary Criticism assembles some of the most insightful advocates of this perspective to illuminate ecofeminism as a valuable component of literary criticism.

Genres: Feminism

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une anthologie de textes assez courts sur l'écoféminisme à travers la théorie et l'interprétation littéraire (et vice-versa ;) ). Un portrait assez large de couverture quand même, on parle autant d'essais (dont celui de Françoise d'Eaubonne) que de poésie ou de romans (Ana Castillo, Christa Wolf, Octavia Butler, Ursula Le Guin, etc.) de différentes traditions littéraires et pays. Ma seule grande déception est vraiment la brièveté de certains des textes qui auraient bien mérité un peu plus de place.
Je ne suis pas encore trop sûr quoi penser des deux derniers textes sur l'enseignement de l'écoféminisme non plus.

J'aurais définitivement bien aimé pouvoir le lire avant la fin de la rédaction de mon mémoire, ça n'aurait probablement pas changé la théorie, mais m'aurait probablement conforté à certains égards dans mes analyses littéraires (et la piste de l'alimentation en est une intéressante que je n'avais pas exploré). J'aurais aussi probablement lu Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight de Le Guin qui a l'air vraiment intéressant! mais je l'ajoute à ma liste de livres à lire à l'instant.

[Gema Cantos · Rating 4 out of 5]

As like any other anthology, some essays were more useful to me than others (in relation to the bibliography I need for my thesis). Nonetheless, I found most of them to be highly entertaining and educative in relation to ecofeminist theory and how it can be applied to literary analysis.

I did not read the last two as they deal with the application of ecofeminist theory to the classroom (for now, I needed the ones dealing with literature). However, I will keep them in mind for when I (hopefuly) can work as a literature teacher :)