Mother/nature: Popular Culture and Environmental Ethics

Mother/nature: Popular Culture and Environmental Ethics
ISBN-10
0253341787
ISBN-13
9780253341785
Category
Science / Environmental Science
Pages
221
Language
English
Published
2003
Publisher
Indiana University Press
Author
Catherine M. Roach

Description

This brief but ambitious book explores our relationship with nature through the imagery we use when we talk about Mother Nature. Employing the critical tools of religious studies, psychology, and gender studies, Catherine M. Roach examines the various manifestations of nature as "mother" and what that idea implies for the way we approach the natural world. Part One, "Nature as Good Mother," discusses the notion that nature is, or is like, a beneficent and nurturing mother who provides and maintains life. In studying the "green" slogan "Love Your Mother," Roach questions the effects-for women and for the environment-of imputing female gender to nature. She asks us to look at the associations "motherhood" and "mothering" carry within a culture still shaped by patriarchy. She notes the danger of such an apparently pro-environmental slogan if "mother" evokes the bountiful, self-sacrificing provider who herself requires no care.Part Two, "Nature as Bad Mother," looks at the contrary notion of nature as a violent, threatening, and wrathful mother. This image arises most often when humans and technology are depicted as masters of unruly nature. Here Roach draws on theological reflection to analyze this ambivalence toward nature manifested in a fantasy that casts humans as gods. She explores the contributions of eco-theology and eco-psychology to a "heart of darkness" perspective. Finally, Part Three, "Nature as Hurt Mother," looks at possibilities and pitfalls of environmental healing inherent in the image of nature as a mother we have wounded and now seek to heal.ALSO OF INTEREST ECOFEMINISMWomen, Culture, NatureEdited by Karen J. Warren0-253-33031-9 HB £37.950-253-21057-7 PB £18.95

Similar books

  • Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management V
    By Daniel William Tedder, American Chemical Society. Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

    Reimann , G. A .; Grandy , J. D .; Eddy , T. L .; Anderson , G. L. In Nuclear and Hazardous Waste Management Spectrum '92 ( Proc . ) ; American Nuclear Society , Inc. , La Grange Park , IL , 1992 ; Vol . 2 , pp . 1083-1088 . 3 .

  • Ecosystem Management in the United States: An Assessment of Current Experience
    By Steven Lewis Yaffee

    In 1991 , the Spence - Moriarty property ( 37,000 acres adjacent tə the Inberg - Roy ) was purchased . Now administering enough winter habitat , WGFD removed the thirteen miles of elk fence . WGFD sets herd - unit objectives based on ...

  • Emerging Technologies in Hazardous Waste Management IV
    By Daniel William Tedder

    A stock solution of PCP was prepared at an elevated pH of 11 with 1 N NaOH to increase the solubility of PCP in the aqueous phase . For the partial chemical oxidation pretreatment by Fenton's Reagent , the ferrous sulfate solution ...

  • Encyclopedia of Human Ecology: A-H
    By Julia R. Miller

    Amy Griffin Monica Mouton Sanders M.Angela Casady Jennifer Smith Burden Tom Luster See also: Adolescent Pregnancy and Prevention; Prenatal Decision Making by Adolescents; Sexual Abstinence References and Further Reading Child Trends.

  • Environment: The Science Behind the Stories
    By Scott R. Brennan, Jay Withgott

    KEY BENEFIT: The first edition of Environment: The Science behind the Stories made the biggest splash of any new entry in environmental science over the past thirty years.

  • A New Green Order?: The World Bank and the Politics of the Global Environment Facility
    By Zoe Young

    Jackson , P.M. , The Political Economy of Bureaucracy , 1981 , Philip Allan , Oxford . Jacobs , Michael , Environment , Sustainable Development and the Politics of the Future , 1991 , Pluto Press , London . Jordan , Andrew , ' Financing ...

  • ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE FROM CHEMICALS
    By W. Brock Neely, Gary E. Blau

    Johanson , R. L. , Imhoff , J. C. , Davis , H. H. , Jr. , Kittle , J. L. , Jr. , and Donigian , A. S. , Jr. , User's Manual for Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN ( HSPF ) . Release No. 8 , EPA - 600 / 3-84-066 , U.S. Environmental ...

  • Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica
    By Tom Griffiths

    A1 commented that Casey is traditionally considered to have lower morale than any other station , because of the tunnel design of the old station ( now superseded and removed ) and because it is the least scenic of the Australian ...

  • Encyclopedia of Environmental Control Technology: Volume 6: Pollution Reduction and Containment Control
    By Paul Cheremisinoff

    Chapters cover the practical application of pollution and contaminant control technology

  • Tourism in the Polar Regions: The Sustainability Challenge
    By United Nations Environment Programme, John Snyder, International Ecotourism Society

    The Sustainability Challenge John Snyder, United Nations Environment Programme, International Ecotourism Society. Foreword The rapid growth of tourism over recent decades presents both challenges and opportunities .