Ecofeminism: Towards Integrating the Concerns of Women, Poor People, and Nature into Development

by Jytte Nhanenge

Overview

Ecofeminism is for those who desire to improve their understanding of the current crises of poverty, environmental destruction, violence, and human rights abuses, and their causes. It is an ecofeminist analysis of modern society's dualized, patriarchal structure, showing that one-sided reductionist, masculine, and quantitative (yang) perceptions inform science, economics, and technology, resulting in subordination of holistic, feminine, and qualitative (yin) values. This yin-yang imbalance manifests as patriarchal domination of women, poor people, and nature, leading to the above crises. Since similar values inform Third World Development, its activities are also exploitative. Thus, rather than improving human well-being, development increases poverty and natural degradation in the South. Modern patriarchy manifests in neo-liberal policies that promote 'free' global economic markets and trades, generating huge profits to the political and economic elites with devastating results for societies and nature worldwide. Unless we increase our awareness and demand changes that balance the yang and yin forces, patriarchal domination will eradicate life on planet Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761854296
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	560
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jytte Nhanenge is a Danish citizen who has been working with development in Africa for many years. She decided to find out what is wrong with development, as she was troubled about development's inability to alleviate poverty. Nhanenge embarked on a lengthy study and discusses the outcome in this book. She lives with her husband and their two dogs in Mozambique.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Acknowledgements
Chapter 3 Introduction
Chapter 4 Chapter 1: Aspects of the Crises in the World
Chapter 5 Chapter 2: Perspectives for Transforming the Crises
Chapter 6 Chapter 3: Ecofeminism: What It Is and Why It Is Important
Chapter 7 Chapter 4: An Ecofeminist Analysis of Science, Economics, and Technology
Chapter 8 Chapter 5: An Ecofeminist Analysis of Development
Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Ecofeminist Thougts on a Possible Non-dominant World: "The Way Things Could Have Been"
Chapter 10 Chapter 7: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations
Chapter 11 Glossary
Chapter 12 Bibliography
Chapter 13 Index

Editorial Reviews

This book should be read by everyone who sincerely cares about saving Mother Earth and all life dependent on it. It is more than highly critical of modern society and its dominant institutions and knowledge system, which are subordinating society and exploiting nature in order to provide the elites with economic profit. By using an ecofeminist perspective, the book clarifies this tragic and unsustainable state of affairs as being a function of patriarchal domination, and explains its underlying concepts and roots. Despite its scholarship, every concept, theory, and idea presented is explained in plain English, making everything easy to understand....The book is a must reading for every literate person in the world; it is for those who are appreciative of scholarship; it is for those who want to understand the root causes of our present global crises; it is for those who want to improve their knowledge in order to increase their engagement in the current important discussions about necessary global changes; it is for those who want to present their demands more eloquently to political leaders and media; it is for those who want real change and improvement in the quality of life for society and nature and who are fed up with the eternal focus on economic profit; and it is for those who are not yet completely impoverished by the greed of patriarchy and still have some funds available to buy the book*. *If you are out of funds, I would urge you to ask your library to acquire it.

Sustainability Education Network

This book should be read by everyone who sincerely cares about saving Mother Earth and all life dependent on it. It is more than highly critical of modern society and its dominant institutions and knowledge system, which are subordinating society and exploiting nature in order to provide the elites with economic profit. By using an ecofeminist perspective, the book clarifies this tragic and unsustainable state of affairs as being a function of patriarchal domination, and explains its underlying concepts and roots. Despite its scholarship, every concept, theory, and idea presented is explained in plain English, making everything easy to understand....The book is a must reading for every literate person in the world; it is for those who are appreciative of scholarship; it is for those who want to understand the root causes of our present global crises; it is for those who want to improve their knowledge in order to increase their engagement in the current important discussions about necessary global changes; it is for those who want to present their demands more eloquently to political leaders and media; it is for those who want real change and improvement in the quality of life for society and nature and who are fed up with the eternal focus on economic profit; and it is for those who are not yet completely impoverished by the greed of patriarchy and still have some funds available to buy the book*. *If you are out of funds, I would urge you to ask your library to acquire it.--Sustainability Education Network

From the Publisher