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Currently, we are facing a climate crisis, which (as the name suggests) is detrimental to Planet Earth. Many plants and animals are dying or going extinct as a consequence. To combat the climate change crisis, a study of ecology and politics is essential as it provides the fundamentals to making a change. The first step would be to examine the relationship between politics and ecology, that is highlighted in the concept of ecofeminism. The next steps involve studying who Carolyn Merchant is and the reasons she became an important figure in the field of ecofeminism and lastly, her notable works.
Professor Carolyn Merchant was born in Rochester, New York on 12 July 1936. She is an American ecofeminist and a historian of science. Merchant was a faculty member of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California Berkley. She taught Environmental History, Ethics, and Philosophy.
Ecofeminism: apolitical ideology, linked with mainstream feminist theory, which seeks to understand and analyse the relationship between gender and the environment.
Merchant studied chemistry at Vassar College. Afterwards, she went on to obtain an MA and Ph.D. in Science History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Later, she became a professor at UC Berkeley and published many books on ecofeminism. Merchant is most famous for her workThe Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution(1980).
Inspired by academic figures withinecologismand feminism throughout the 1960s, such as Racheal Carson (author ofSilent Spring1962) andBetty Friedan(author ofThe Feminine Mystique1963), Merchant set about drawing significant parallels between these previously separate social and political movements.
Fig 2. Ecofeminist symbol
In her work, Merchant highlights that the existence of the patriarchal structures could explain the exploitation of both women and our wider natural habitats.
Patriarchal structures
Exploitative structures, which typically favour the interests of cis-gendered men, often to the detriment of women and gender variant individuals.
For instance, applying an ecofeminist lens, Merchant argues thatpatriarchyallows women to be associated with nature and are considered to be commodities or resources which can be controlled and exploited.
Ecofeminism serves a dual purpose to highlight and challenge societal inequalities and the destruction of our natural environment. Merchant stresses that as the climate crisis escalates, the work and critical lens of ecofeminists will be increasingly important to highlight the disproportionate effects of climate change due to oppressive patriarchal structures:
Women bear the heaviest burden of the effects of climate change, especially in developing countries... they live and raise families in low lying areas affected by the flooding of rivers because, as a family of caregivers, they are less mobile than their male counterparts.”
- Merchant, 20181
Merchant's bookThe Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution(1980), explores the parallels between ecologism and feminism. Within this foundational ecofeminist work, Merchant documents the history of the exploitation of the natural world, exploring how destruction to our natural environment has been "infused with deep tones of sexism".2
For instance, under patriarchal structures, political or economic barriers can diminish the collective voice of marginalised populations. Therefore, essential environmental conservation or protection can often go ignored.
In her book, Merchant makes the following key ecofeminist arguments:
The patriarchal structure of society has resulted in the oppression and exploitation linked with gender and the natural world.
If the concept of nature is to be revived and if we are going to avoid the perils of climate change, the relationship between how gender norms and roles will require significant reconstruction.
A significant number of the concepts related to ecologism and environmentalism have roots in the masculine view of both nature and science in general.
在前几年她在2018年退休,Carolyn Merchant shifted the focus of her research from ecofeminism to the cultural and environmental history of the US and California, which is a specialised topic in scientific history and philosophy of the Western world. Such an approach has influenced the ever-evolving ideology of ecologism.
Fig 2. Merchant's work focused on ecologism
Apolitical ideologycultivated in response to industrialisation.Ecologismis built on the foundational principles of sustainability, ecology, holism,environmental ethicsand consciousness.
In Merchant's foundational work,The Anthropocene and the Humanities (2020), the detrimental impact of human actions on our environment is well documented.
For instance, Merchant highlights:
Humans have changed the geology and ecology of the planet by burning fossil fuels that put greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing climate change"- Merchant, 20183
Anthropocene
A term which documents the age from which human actions have had a significant impact on the Earth's environment.
However, it is not all doom and gloom. Merchant's work highlights that through understanding and collectively applyingecologismwe can still undo the destruction and exploitation of the natural world. To achieve this, Merchant highlights that global power structures, which result in the disproportionate impact of western industrialised nations on climate change, must be challenged.
Examples of Merchant'secologismin action include:
Engaging with indigenous communities around the world to understand and apply established forms of conservation and stewardship for our natural environment
Transforming the "Age of Anthropocene" into the "Age of Sustainability". By that Merchant identifies the importance of renewable energy sources, recycling and equal distribution of resources and fairer economic and political structures.
Over the last four decades, Merchant has authored a number of influential works which have shaped the ideologies of ecologism and ecofeminism. Throughout Merchant's published work, the importance of social structures, such aspatriarchy, in accounting for the destruction of the natural world is highlighted.
Having learnt about Carolyn Merchant you may wish to dive into our fantastic articles onEcologismandEco Feminism!
While we have explored a number of Merchant's key works throughout this article, take a look below at the comprehensive list of her published books:
The Death of Nature, Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution (1980)
Nature, Gender and Science in New England (1989)
Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World (Revolutionary Thought and Radical Movements) (1992)
Major Problems in American Environmental History: Documents and Essays edited by Carolyn Merchant (1993)
Earthcare: Women and the Environment (1996)
The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History (2002)
Reinventing Eden: The fate of nature in Western Countries
American Environmental History: An Introduction (2007)
Autonomous Nature: Problems of Prediction and Control from Ancient Times to the Scientific Revolution (2015)
Spare the Birds! George Bird Grinnell and the First Audubon Society (2016)
Science and Nature, Past, Present and Future (2017)
战争的起源疾病:在(2018)
The Anthropocene and the Humanities: From Climate Change to a New Age of Sustainability (2020)
Carolyn Merchant is an ecofeminist, historian of science and academic. Throughout her career, Merchant's work has shaped the nature of ecofeminism and ecologism. Merchant is best known for her published work,The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution(1980).
Carolyn Merchant's most famous work is: "The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution."
She has also written 12 other texts, which can be found in the article.
Merchant's bookThe Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution(1980), explores the parallels between ecologism and feminism. Within this foundational ecofeminist work, Merchant documents the history of the exploitation of the natural world, exploring how the destruction of our natural environment has been shaped by sexism.
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