Ecological Feminism

by Karen J. Warren (Editor)

This anthology is the first such collection to focus on the exclusively philosophical aspects of ecological feminism. It addresses basic questions about the conceptual underpinnings of `women-nature' connections, and emphasises the importance of seeing sexism and the exploitation of the environment as parallel forms of domination. Ecological Feminism is enriched by the inclusion of essays which take differing views of the importance and nature of ecofeminism. It will be an invaluable resource for courses on women's studies, environmental studies and philosophy.

Genres: Feminism, Philosophy, Environment

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Karen J. Warren is an author, scholar, and former Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Macalester College.

Karen Warren received her B.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota (1970) and her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1978. Before her long tenure at Macalester College, which began in 1985, Warren was Professor of Philosophy at St. Olaf College in the early 1980s. Warren was the Ecofeminist-Scholar-in-Residence at Murdoch University in Australia. In 2003, she served as an Oxford University Round Table Scholar and as Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette University in 2004. She has spoken widely on environmental issues, feminism, critical thinking skills and peace studies in many international locations including Buenos Aires, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Oslo, Manitoba, Melbourne, Moscow, Perth, the U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), and San Jose.

Reviews

[Candy Wood]

All the contributors to this collection are identified as affiliated with U.S. universities except Val Plumwood, who is Australian, so even though they write about the need for global awareness and inclusiveness, they write from a position of American privilege. The editor, Karen J. Warren, has the first and last words, and most of the contributors refer to her earlier work: in one essay, Douglas Buege defends Warren and two other contributors to the volume from an attack that wasn't directed at them, faulting Janet Biehl for not including them in her discussion of ecofeminism; in another, Phillip Payne assumes that everyone has read Warren's earlier work as he takes issue with her use of first-person narrative. All agree that ecofeminism opposes inappropriate domination, whether of men over women or humans over nonhuman nature, and all agree that ecofeminism does NOT "glorify the feminine uncritically," as Victoria Davion puts it. All very philosophical.