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A Lecture by |
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Is That Essence Rare? Despite Teresa Brennan's recent observation that the charge of essentialism has become nothing more than an "exegetical cliche," ecofeminists continue to struggle with the question of female essence and its role in an environmentally restorative philosophy. While the debate frequently centers around the importance of differences between women, a broader underlying issue is the normative force of the female essence in ecofeminist politics. Science fiction is an underused resource in this controversy. In particular, a sympathetic reading of ecofeminist science fiction reveals that the problem of essence is parasitic upon a widely accepted but largely misconceived feminist critique of science. Ecofeminist science fiction can defray the impact of gender essentialism, and help to moderate its normative content. 3:00 p.m. on Friday, December 6 EESAT 130 |
Edrie Sobstyl received her
Ph.D. in feminist philosophy of science from the University of
Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) in 1995. She teaches in the History
of Ideas program at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she
won the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award in 1999. Her recent
work includes a feminist interpretation of the epistemology of
Wilfrid Sellars, an essay on revolutionary radio during the Salvadoran
civil war, and a book on Star Trek. She held a fellowship from
the Rockefeller Foundation in the Humanities at the University
of Oregon earlier this year, where she began work on a long project
on ecofeminist science fiction, to be called "Ground Crew
for Spaceship Earth."
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