The Ecological Other

Environmental Exclusion in American Culture

Bibliographic Data

ID8099080
AuthorsMascha N Gemein (corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume21
Issue1
Pages214-215
Publication date2014-02-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1076-0962 • E-ISSN: 1759-1090
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/isle/ist138
OpenAlexW1997145744
LanguageEN
Citations received19

In The Ecological Other, Sarah Jaquette Ray reveals instances of social injustice within modern environmentalism, and her analysis shows how mainstream US environmentalism displays an inherent hegemony by stipulating a dualism between able, pure bodies and undesirable, alienated bodies. Building on the work of Stacy Alaimo, Ray focuses on a corporeal reading of recent cultural and literary texts. She identifies a supposed “environmental body” that correlates to a healthy environment and is able, pure, and privileged. In contrast, the “ecological other” consists of various counter-images, such as disabled, indigenous, and migrant bodies. These images are created by what Ray calls “environmentalist disgust,” the negative discourse surrounding the supposed unnaturalness or destructive impact of the “other.” To address the historical roots of this phenomenon, Ray analyzes how US environmentalism emerged alongside the Progressive Era preoccupation with US national self-image. At that time, environmental concerns and the image of a strong, able nation found expression in the preservation of wilderness as a new frontier and a purification ground as well as in the eugenics movement

Aesthetics · Biopower · Dualism · Ecofeminism · Ecological crisis · Environmental ethics · Environmentalism · Epistemology · Frontier · Hegemony · Indigenous · Mainstream · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Wilderness · American Environmental and Regional History · Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Ecology · Law · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub