Call for papers in English

 Coined in 1974 by French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book Le Féminisme ou

la Mort (Feminism or Death), the term ecofeminism has undergone important changes

throughout history, expanding its focus beyond its initial emphasis on the interconnectedness

of gender and ecology to include race, class, caste, indigeneity, and other forms of social

oppression. In India, the origins of ecofeminism can be traced back to various movements that

emerged in the 1960s and 70s, such as the Chipko Movement, the Save Silent Valley

Movement or the Forest Rights Movements, among others. It combines feminist and

ecological principles to address the interconnected issues of gender inequality and ecological

degradation and has been significantly led by tribal and other oppressed communities.

Vandana Shiva’s work Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development (1988) has been

instrumental in shaping ecofeminism in India. Other significant names include Maria Mies,

who collaborated with Shiva in the writing of Ecofeminism (1993) or Sunita Narain, Madhu

Sarin and Bina Agarwal who have written extensively on and contributed to the frame of

ecofeminism in the Indian context.

The conference is intended to be interdisciplinary, so papers from ecologists,

historians, anthropologists, philosophers, economists, artists and environmental and cultural

studies scholars are welcome. All topics should be related to India and its diaspora.

Below you will find a list of suggested but not limited topics:

● Convergence of postcolonial and ecofeminism studies in India

● Environment and the literature of Indian women in the diaspora

● Intersections of environmental justice with class, caste, religion and sexual and

gender issues

● Human and non-human interconnections and their relationship to the

environment

● Relations between gender, food, and the environment in India

● Women’s adaptation to climate change and the environmental strategies they

are employing

● Politics of care, the environment and the natural world

● Sustainability and local knowledge. Rural practices

● Women’s role in resource management and conservation

● New approaches and paradigms in the study of human and non-human

interconnections

● Ecofeminist activism. Intersections of environmental and feminist activism in

India

● Ecofeminism in India and Affect Studies

● Gendered impacts of environmental degradation

● Tribal knowledge and traditional practices

● Ecology and feminism in India

● Ecofeminism and capitalism