Environmental Activism and the Maternal: Mothers and Mother Earth in Activism and Discourse





Price: $34.95

Page Count: 196

Publication Date: August 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77258-232-1

This anthology seeks to explore the complex, varied, and sometimes contradictory intersections between mothers, mothering, and environmental activism in discourse and in lived experiences. It is intended to look critically, and yet hopefully, at the ways in which feminist, Indigenous, and environmentalist challenges to the western, capitalist moral imagination are linked.  It explores the reach of rape culture and the ways in which a capitalist, patriarchal society interacts with the earth as a feminine-personified identity. It also shares the hope available to all women through raising a coming generation and the great power to effect change. This work endeavours to share lessons from the Earth in resistance to the continued assaults of anthropogenic capitalist industry, and to inspire new ways to course-correct, to resist, to rise up, to create differently, to foster evolution and revolution as mothers, as women, as hearts and minds.

This volume is curated to be a space for critical discussion about representations linking environmental activism, maternality, and “mother earth” as well as a venue for creative expression and art. In keeping with its intention to provide a space for discussion of a complex and varied array of perspectives on mothers, mothering, and mother earth, this is an interdisciplinary anthology. Contributions included hail from a wide range of disciplines and fields including psychology, sociology, anthropology, women’s and gender studies, cultural studies, literary studies, as well as law and legal studies.  Contributions from scholars working in the fields of social science are interwoven with creative contributions from academics, writers and artists working in fields in the humanities.

This diverse volume takes readers on a compelling journey that provides fresh perspectives on exploring mothering and motherhood with environmental activism. By richly adding to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the contributions on motherhood, this collection is a significant contribution to the complex maternal experiences.

-Dorsía Smith Silva, Full Professor of English, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Editor of Latina/Chicana Mothering, and Co-Editor of Mothers, Mothering, and Globalization

"Highly recommend this text, which effectively integrates a diverse range of voices, viewpoints and methodologies to offer a dynamic perspective, that incorporates critical analysis, new academic research and creative works to better understanding mothering, the environment and the maternal in discourse and activism"

- "Dr. Thomas Harrison is author of numerous works as a scholar, lawyer and Professor, who has also taught legal ethics at Queen's University and law, ethics and critical thinking at Durham College, both in Ontario."

Part 1: Mother Earth in Indigenous Frameworks
Bédard, “Anishinaabe-Kwewag Mothers, the Environment, and Maternal Discourse on Responsibilities to Aki (earth) and Nibi (water): Anishinaabe-Kwewag Maternal Environmental Activism”

Bromwich, “Mother Earth” in Environmental Activism: Indigeneity, Maternal Thinking, and Animism in the Keystone Pipeline Debate”

Part 2: Tensions in Maternal Activism

Zierlein, “The Many Hands of Motherhood” (painting)
Case, “Almira and Me: Remembering the Maternalist Roots of Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps”
Andromeda Bromwich - Mother Earth (illustration)
Atalan-Helicke, “Access to Healthy and Clean Food in Turkey: Food Activism and Mothers’ Concerns about Shopping for Change”
Zierlein, “Death to Us and Ghost Nets”

Part 3: Expressions of Apocalyptic Themes
Zierlein, “We Won’t be Fertile”
Zierlein, “Ophelia’s Drowning”
Avery, “The Maternalocene: The In/Fertility of Mother Nature in Post-Apocalyptic Narrative”
Zierlein, “Baby New Year Plastic World”
Wythe, “The Bones”, excerpt from "Crossing", ch. 11
Tree painting Markstad, “An Old Tree

Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich - is a lawyer, legal academic, mother of four, one-time Green Party parliamentary candidate, and longtime environmental activist

Noemie Richard - is currently completing her 2nd year as an undergraduate honour student in the Bachelors of Global and International Studies at Carleton, specializing in Global Law and Social Justice

Maryellen Symons - is an experienced research lawyer with a PhD in philosophy

Olivia Ungar -is a fourth year Law and Legal Studies honours student at Carleton University.

Melanie Younger is co-managing Director of the US-based NGO "For the Wild", an environmental organization based in deep ecology