Greta Gaard
Encyclopedia
Greta Claire Gaard is an ecofeminist writer, scholar, activist, and documentary filmmaker. Gaard's academic work in the realms of ecocriticism
and ecocomposition
is widely cited by scholars in the disciplines of composition and literary criticism. Her theoretical work extending ecofeminist thought into queer theory
, vegetarianism
, and animal liberation
has been influential within women's studies
. A cofounder of the Minnesota Green Party, Gaard documented the transition of the U.S. Green movement into the Green Party of the United States in her book, Ecological Politics. She is currently a professor of English at University of Wisconsin-River Falls
and a community faculty member in Women's Studies at Metropolitan State University
, Twin Cities.
and ecocomposition
.
Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy, edited by Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy, was the first anthology to examine not only how ecofeminist theory might enhance literary criticism but also how close reading of texts might inform ecofeminist theory and activist practice. This development in ecocriticism
was welcomed by scholars who, along with Simon C. Estok, believe that "if ecocriticism is to have any effect outside of the narrow confines of academia, then it must not only define itself but also address the issue of values in ways that connect meaningfully with the non-academic world."
Gaard's widely cited contribution to Ecocomposition: Theoretical and Practical Approaches similarly argues for the activist applications of scholarly theory, asserting that "at its most inclusive, ecocomposition has the potential to address social issues such as feminism, environmental ethics, multiculturalism, politics, and economics, all by examining matters of form and style, audience and argumentation, and reliable sources and documentation."
and by compiling ecofeminist ideas concerning vegetarianism
and animal liberation
.
Prior to Gaard's germinal 1997 article, "Toward a Queer Ecofeminism," published first in the scholarly journal Hypatia and then anthologized in Perspectives on Environmental Justice, Gender, Sexuality, and Activism, ecofeminism
and queer theory
were separate realms within feminism
. As Gaard writes in her introduction to that piece,
Numerous scholars have since drawn upon that essay in formulating their theories. Gaard's 1993 anthology, Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature also introduced new theoretical intersections. As Gaard noted in her introduction to the pieces collected in that work, "in the three anthologies published at the time of this writing, ecofeminism has failed to locate animals as central to any discussion of ethics involving women and nature." Gaard followed up that anthology with a 2003 review of vegetarian ecofeminist thought.
for more than a decade. In 1993, she was among the founders of the Minnesota Green Party. In 1994, she documented ecofeminist participation in the Greens in the video documentary, Thinking Green: Ecofeminists and the Greens. Gaard's 1998 book, Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens, draws upon interviews with scores of participants to tell the story of the controversial transition of the Green movement into a national political party from multiple perspectives, concluding that
as well as critical essays in non-scholarly publications. Her 2007 book, The Nature of Home, collects several works of creative nonfiction centered on the question of ecological connections to and within places.
Chapters
Peer-reviewed articles
Creative Nonfiction
Other publications
Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation...
and ecocomposition
Ecocomposition
Ecocomposition is a way of looking at literacy using concepts from ecology. It is a postprocess theory of writing instruction that tries to account for factors beyond hierarchically defined goals within social settings; however, it doesn't dismiss these goals...
is widely cited by scholars in the disciplines of composition and literary criticism. Her theoretical work extending ecofeminist thought into queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
, vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, and animal liberation
Animal Liberation
Animal liberation may refer to:*Animal rights, animals being considered as legal persons**Animal-liberation movement**Abolitionism , an abolitionist approach to animal rights**Veganarchism, a combined theory of animal liberation and anarchism...
has been influential within women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
. A cofounder of the Minnesota Green Party, Gaard documented the transition of the U.S. Green movement into the Green Party of the United States in her book, Ecological Politics. She is currently a professor of English at University of Wisconsin-River Falls
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
The University of Wisconsin–River Falls is a liberal arts undergraduate and graduate university and a member of the University of Wisconsin System. UW–River Falls is located in River Falls, Wisconsin on the famed trout fishing Kinnickinnic River. The campus consists of 32 major buildings, ten of...
and a community faculty member in Women's Studies at Metropolitan State University
Metropolitan State University
Metropolitan State University is a four-year public university located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, United States. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.-History:...
, Twin Cities.
Ecocriticism and Ecocomposition
Greta Gaard has applied ecofeminist theory to both literary criticism and composition instruction, thereby contributing feminist insights to the emerging fields of ecocriticismEcocriticism
Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation...
and ecocomposition
Ecocomposition
Ecocomposition is a way of looking at literacy using concepts from ecology. It is a postprocess theory of writing instruction that tries to account for factors beyond hierarchically defined goals within social settings; however, it doesn't dismiss these goals...
.
Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy, edited by Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy, was the first anthology to examine not only how ecofeminist theory might enhance literary criticism but also how close reading of texts might inform ecofeminist theory and activist practice. This development in ecocriticism
Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation...
was welcomed by scholars who, along with Simon C. Estok, believe that "if ecocriticism is to have any effect outside of the narrow confines of academia, then it must not only define itself but also address the issue of values in ways that connect meaningfully with the non-academic world."
Gaard's widely cited contribution to Ecocomposition: Theoretical and Practical Approaches similarly argues for the activist applications of scholarly theory, asserting that "at its most inclusive, ecocomposition has the potential to address social issues such as feminism, environmental ethics, multiculturalism, politics, and economics, all by examining matters of form and style, audience and argumentation, and reliable sources and documentation."
Ecofeminist Theory
"One of the most influential ecofeminist scholars," Greta Gaard has extended ecofeminist theory by mapping linkages with queer theoryQueer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
and by compiling ecofeminist ideas concerning vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
and animal liberation
Animal Liberation
Animal liberation may refer to:*Animal rights, animals being considered as legal persons**Animal-liberation movement**Abolitionism , an abolitionist approach to animal rights**Veganarchism, a combined theory of animal liberation and anarchism...
.
Prior to Gaard's germinal 1997 article, "Toward a Queer Ecofeminism," published first in the scholarly journal Hypatia and then anthologized in Perspectives on Environmental Justice, Gender, Sexuality, and Activism, ecofeminism
Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism is a social and political movement which points to the existence of considerable common ground between environmentalism and feminism, with some currents linking deep ecology and feminism...
and queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
were separate realms within feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
. As Gaard writes in her introduction to that piece,
Although many ecofeminists acknowledge heterosexism as a problem, a systematic exploration of the potential intersections of ecofeminist and queer theories has yet to be made. By interrogating social constructions of the "natural," the various uses of Christianity as a logic of domination, and the rhetoric of colonialism, this essay finds those intersections and argues for the importance of developing a queer ecofeminism.
Numerous scholars have since drawn upon that essay in formulating their theories. Gaard's 1993 anthology, Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature also introduced new theoretical intersections. As Gaard noted in her introduction to the pieces collected in that work, "in the three anthologies published at the time of this writing, ecofeminism has failed to locate animals as central to any discussion of ethics involving women and nature." Gaard followed up that anthology with a 2003 review of vegetarian ecofeminist thought.
Ecological Politics
As an activist, Greta Gaard participated in the Green movementGreen Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
for more than a decade. In 1993, she was among the founders of the Minnesota Green Party. In 1994, she documented ecofeminist participation in the Greens in the video documentary, Thinking Green: Ecofeminists and the Greens. Gaard's 1998 book, Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens, draws upon interviews with scores of participants to tell the story of the controversial transition of the Green movement into a national political party from multiple perspectives, concluding that
Ecofeminists can learn from the Greens and from the work of ecofeminists in the Greens. A radically democratic movement for social and environmental justice will be larger than ecofeminism and larger than the Greens. Yet we can only bring about that movement by working with and through our communities--and our communities will always be partial, unrepresentative, incomplete. Only the coalition of a variety of progressive communities will bring about the transformations needed to articulate a radical democracy, and in that coalition, an ecofeminist vision will find expression.
Other Writing
Greta Gaard also has published fiction, poetry, and creative nonfictionCreative nonfiction
Creative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service...
as well as critical essays in non-scholarly publications. Her 2007 book, The Nature of Home, collects several works of creative nonfiction centered on the question of ecological connections to and within places.
Other Activism
Greta Gaard was a member of the now-inactive Feminists for Animal Rights, publishing some essays in the FAR newsletter.Selected publications
Books- The Nature of Home: Taking Root in a Place. University of Arizona Press, 2007.
- Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens. Temple University Press, 1998.
- Ecofeminist Literary Criticism (Editor, with Patrick Murphy). University of Illinois Press, 1998.
- Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature (Editor). Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993.
Chapters
- “Ecofeminism and Animals.” pp. 647–53 in Encyclopedia of Animals and Humans, ed. Marc Bekoff. Vol. 2. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.
- "Toward a Queer Ecofeminism." pp. 21–44. In New Perspectives on Environmental Justice, Gender, Sexuality, and Activism. Ed. Rachel Stein. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2004.
- “Ecofeminism and EcoComposition.” pp. 163–178. In Ecocomposition: Theoretical and Practical Approaches. Ed. Sid Dobrin and Christian Weisser. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
- "Identity Politics as a Comparative Poetics." pp. 230–43. In Borderwork: Feminist Engagements with Comparative Literature. Ed. Margaret Higonnet. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.
Peer-reviewed articles
- "Toward an Ecopedagogy of Children's Environmental Literature." Green Theory and Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy 4:2 (2008): 11-24.
- “Vegetarian Ecofeminism: A Review Essay.” Frontiers 23:3(2003):117-146.
- “Ecofeminism on the Wing: Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations.” Women & Environments 52/53 (Fall 2001):19-22.
- “Women, Water, Energy: An Ecofeminist Approach.” Organization & Environment 14:2 (June 2001):157-172.
- “Tools for a Cross-Cultural Feminist Ethics: Ethical Contexts and Contents in the Makah Whale Hunt.” Hypatia 16.1 (Winter 2001):1-26.
- “Strategies for a Cross-Cultural Ecofeminist Ethics: Interrogating Tradition, Preserving Nature in Linda Hogan’s Power and Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy.” The Bucknell Review 44:1 (March 2000):82-101.
- "Toward a Queer Ecofeminism." Hypatia 12:1(Winter 1997):114-37.
- "Ecofeminism and Wilderness." Environmental Ethics 19:1 (Spring 1997):5-24.
- "Hiking Without a Map: Reflections on Teaching Ecofeminist Literary Criticism." Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 3:1(Fall 1996):155-82.
- "Ecofeminism: Toward Global Justice and Planetary Health." (with Lori Gruen) Society and Nature 2:1 (1993):1-35.
Creative Nonfiction
- “Queer by Nature.” pp. 147–57 in Love, West Hollywood. Ed. James Berg and Chris Freeman. Alyson Publications, 2008.
- "Explosion." Ethics & Environment 8:2 (Winter 2003):71-79.
- “Family of Origin, Family of Land.” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 8:2 (Summer 2001):237-51.
- “Ecofeminism and Home.” IRIS: A Journal about Women 37(Spring/Summer 1998):62-67.
Other publications
- "Milking Mother Nature: An Ecofeminist Critique of rBGH." The Ecologist 24:6 (November/December 1994):1-2.
- "Misunderstanding Ecofeminism.” Z Papers 3:1(January–March 1994):20-24.
Video Documentaries
- “River Farm, An Intentional Community.” 9:00 minutes. (1998)
- "Ecofeminism Now!" 37:00 minutes. (1996).
- "Thinking Green: Ecofeminists and the Greens." 35:00 minutes. (1994)
- "Building Green Communities." 26:00 minutes (1993).
- "We, The People: The 1993 March on Washington for Gay, Lesbian, and Bi Equal Rights."
External links
- Greta Gaard's homepage (includes full text of several essays)
- Temple University Press page for Ecological Politics (with sample chapter)
- Temple University Press page for Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature (with sample chapter)
- 1991 interview on Animal Voices radio