WGSS 255 - Feminist and Queer Ecologies

When you think of ‘nature,’ what comes to mind? In this course, we will examine how systems of power shape our concepts and relationships with nature, paying particular attention to the intersections of race, indigeneity, gender, ability, sexuality, and the environment. We will place feminist and queer ecologies in dialogue to destabilize assumptions about nature and science that reinforce ideas of what is “natural” and “normal.” Feminist and queer ecologies critique the ways in which “nature” is cast as orderly and pure, in need of protection from populations or relationships deemed deviant or dangerous. Instead, feminist and queer ecologies invite us to reimagine how our relationships with nature are rooted in intimacy, multiplicity, interdependence and, ultimately, offer a path toward liberation. Topics we will explore include environmental justice, queer theory, environmental racism, crip theory, ecofeminism, science and technology studies, new materialism, affect, political ecology, queer Indigenous feminisms, relationality and kinship, Black queer ecofeminism, reproductive justice, climate justice, feminist and queer futurities and temporalities, animal studies, and posthumanism. Spring Semester Only. (4 Credits)