Revitalizing Ecofeminism: The Intersection of Gender and Nature
March 21 - 23, 2024
In the 1970s, scholars began to apply feminist critiques to uncover the connections between patriarchy and dominance over the natural world. Today, scholars continue to explore the links among gender (in)equality, social justice, and environmental concerns, past and present. This interdisciplinary conference on women and gender brings together participants from all academic fields to engage in wide-ranging conversations about connections among normative cultural assumptions, gender-based marginalization, and the exploitation of nature. Are the casual or motivational roots of these phenomena connected? How do economic systems tie into this matrix? If there are common causes for economic degradation and gender marginalization, might there be common avenues of amelioration?
While privileging women and gender, topics may include but are not limited to:
- Capitalism and Environment
- Gender and Environmental Policy
- History of Environmentalism
- Gender and Environmentalism
- Ethical Implications of Ecofeminism
- Artistic Expressions of Nature
- The Future of Food and Water
- Indigenous Rights and Environment
- Reproduction and Nature
- Climate Change and Gender Equality
- Gender and Health
- Intersectionalities and the Environment
- History of Women as Environmental Refugees
- Sustainability
- Spiritual Ecofeminism
- Nature and Religion
- Conquest and Imperialism
- Global Inequalities
Submissions from any academic discipline are welcome, including but not limited to art, history, philosophy, religious studies, sociology, psychology, education, environmental science, medicine, biomedical ethics, economics, political science, gender studies, communication studies and literature. We also invite professionals in nonacademic settings to submit proposals.
Please include with your abstract your full name and your academic or professional affiliation and rank (graduate student, professor, artist, etc.). Abstracts that greatly exceed the 500-word count may not be considered. We will also include a few competitively selected undergraduate panels in the 2024 conference. All submissions will be peer-reviewed and those accepted will be notified no later than December 15, 2023.
Paper presentations will ideally be 15-20 minutes in length and can be considered for our annual publication.
Please direct inquiries about the conference to gcwg@cnu.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Presenters | Fee |
|---|---|
| External faculty | $200 |
| CNU and NSU faculty | $125 |
| Graduate student | $125 |
| Undergraduate | $65 |
| Attendees | Fee |
|---|---|
| Full conference | $125 |
| Daily rate | $75 |
We often publish a selection of top papers from the conference and will provide further details to conference participants.
- All individual presentations should be limited to 20 minutes in order to leave time for questions from the audience.
- We will not accept papers in absentia.
- Closer to the conference date, we will email all participants asking for A/V requirements. All of our conference rooms have A/V setups.
- All paper submissions for the conference are peer-reviewed by the conference committee.
Occasionally, international guests are caught by surprise when encountering our chilly March temperatures. Newport News averages a high of 55 degrees F (13 degrees C) and a low temperature of 37 degrees F (3 degrees C). Our indoor spaces on campus tend to run a bit cool, so plan accordingly for your comfort.