Material Feminisms

Harnessing the energy of provocative theories generated by recent understandings of the human body, the natural world, and the material world, Material Feminisms presents an entirely new way for feminists to conceive of the question of materiality. In lively and timely essays, an international group of feminist thinkers challenges the assumptions and norms that have previously defined studies about the body. These wide-ranging essays grapple with topics such as the material reality of race, the significance of sexual difference, the impact of disability experience, and the complex interaction between nature and culture in traumatic events such as Hurricane Katrina. By insisting on the importance of materiality, this volume breaks new ground in philosophy, feminist theory, cultural studies, science studies, and other fields where the body and nature collide.

Stacy Alaimo is Associate Professor of English at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is author of Undomesticated Ground: Recasting Nature as Feminist Space.

Susan Hekman is Professor of Political Science and Director of Graduate Humanities at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is author of Private Selves, Public Identities and The Future of Differences.