Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth

Description

Leading feminist scholars and activists as well as new voices introduce and explore themes central to contemporary ecofeminism. Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth first offers an historical, grounding overview that situates ecofeminist theory and activism and provides a timeline for important publications and events. This is followed by contributions from leading theorists and activists on how our emotions and embodiment can and must inform our relationships with the more than human world. In the final section, the contributors explore the complexities of appreciating difference and the possibilities of living less violently. Throughout the book, the authors engage with intersections of gender and gender non-conformity, race, sexuality, disability, and species. The result is a new up-to-date resource for students and teachers of animal studies, environmental studies, feminist/gender studies, and practical ethics.

Carol J. Adams has published extensively on vegetarianism and veganism, animal advocacy, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Her many books include the pioneering The Sexual Politics of Meat. www.caroljadams.com Lori Gruen is Professor of Philosophy, Environmental Studies, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University, USA, where she also coordinates Wesleyan Animal Studies. She is the author most recently of Ethics and Animals: An Introduction and the editor of five books.

With the growing interest in intersectional theories there has been a recent, renewed interest in ecofeminism. This book rises to meet this demand in the form of a collection of essays, which answers the concern of essentialism by embracing a wide range of scholarly voices from the field ... engaging and mind-opening ... a must-read for both feminists and also, no doubt, for meat-eaters. -- Anna Maguire * U.S. Studies Online * This provocative new anthology is to be warmly welcomed for the diversity of its voices and the breadth of its critical analyses and agenda. Ecofeminism encompasses theory and lived experience at the multiple and sometimes contested intersections of gender identity, disability rights, race, and animal advocacy. -- Martin Rowe, Author of The Polar Bear in the Zoo: A Speculation Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth both honors the passing of ecofeminist scholar Marti Kheel and demonstrates that ecofeminism and its emphasis on care, emotion, affect, and compassion, are more relevant than ever today. The essays in this collection go far beyond the classic works in the field, addressing the history of ecofeminism, its ethical components, the nature of our relationships with other animals, and addresses issues like ableism, white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, heteronormativity, as well as speciesism. Ecofeminism is a must-read for both feminist and animal rights activists and scholars and is destined to become a new classic in the field. -- Margo DeMello, Program Director for Human-Animal Studies, Animals & Society Institute, USA This volume demonstrates why ecofeminism is the most important politics of our time. Richly interdisciplinary and provocative in the very best ways - at times playful and humorous too - Ecofeminism presents fresh, invigorating and inspirational scholarship on the intersecting relationships between humankind and the other than human world. It is crucial reading for anyone who cares about making a positive difference to the well-being of this planet and its beautifully diverse inhabitants. Adams and Gruen have also produced a fitting tribute to the legacy of Marti Kheel. -- Annie Potts, Associate Professor and Co-Director of New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies, University of Canterbury, New Zealand In bringing together a variety of voices, Ecofeminism provides us with valuable insights into an important approach to advocating for justice-an approach that makes fundamental connections between complex issues. As a woman of color working at the intersections of social justice, I quickly identified with many of the ideas here and felt like I was not alone. Readers will learn a lot from this empowering book. -- lauren Ornelas, Founder and Executive Director, Food Empowerment Project, USA The past three decades or so have seen the publication of a fair number of collections presenting feminist perspectives on human-animal relations. So when coming to a new volume that walks this well-traversed terrain, it's hard not to approach it with the thought that there had really better be something new here. Happily, Ecofeminism delivers the fresh goods. ... What the collection as a whole conveys, primarily, is the roots-in-the-dirt entanglement of the various strands of social life with human and nonhuman animals. With animal studies now making the transition from applied ethics to social philosophy, Ecofeminism makes worthy contributions to an emerging and exciting literature. -- Jason Wyckoff * Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy *