Recently, in my ECOLOG-L News group, several people are conversing about
Feminist Ecology. The following caught my attention. According to the
sender, sceintist A is traditional ecologist and scientist B is Feminist
ecologist. I am interested in what ecofem people think an distinction
between traditional ecologist and Feminist ecologist.
Toshihide Hamazaki Phone: 706-542-1120
Institute of Ecology Fax: 706-542-3344
Athens, GA 30602 E-nail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 17:18:14 -0500
Sender: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs,
news" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Let me see if I understand this.
> Scientist A uses the approach of (a)testing of hypotheses.
> Scientist B uses the approaches of (a) consultation of oracles and
> (b)divination.
> Scientist B is better than scientist A because he/she practices multiple
> approaches to learning about things.
> Is that the general idea?
No, it is not.
It is rather more like this:
Scientist A insists that One True Way of Ecological Research is
simplistic factorial field manipulations.
Scientist B uses simplistic factorial field manipulations, but he or she
relies on models, simulations, theory, and observations, as well. In
rare cases, even common sense is sometimes appealed to.
Scientist B is the better scientist.
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>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Mar 10 06:16:36 1996
Date: 10 Mar 96 08:16:25 EST
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Sara J. McKinstry)
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Sarasita)
Subject: RE: process of ecological consciousness raising
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--- Mary Hallock Morris wrote:
The Internet is a great tool and I think this is a good idea. However, not all
students may have access to the
net...Computers are expensive and unless the college provides e-mail access,
finding an internet carrier can
also be costly.
--- end of quoted material ---
I completely agree with Mary. As a student at Dartmouth College, I find myself
in a lucky situation - students are *required* to bring or purchase computers
as first years when they come on campus. Financial Aid helps students who need
it - I couldn't have gotten a computer with it. Every single classroom, office
buidling and dorm room is hooked up to our system, and all students are given
*free* email and Internet access. We even have our own email system called
"Blitzmail" - entire papers can be sent over this system.
Despite this universal and easy access, profs rarely except papers over email.
I'm a senior, and I've always handed in hard copies of all my papers. And the
only classes that require web pages are those computer science classes that
teach Internet usage.
I think it would be wonderful if everyone got a computer - a laptop, which
would be even better - with the help of financial aid - and free Internet
access. Papers could be turned in this way. But until everyone can have
access to this at all schools, I don't see this as a very close term goal.
Sara McKinstry
English major/Envs. minor
Senior at Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH 03755
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Mar 10 06:50:52 1996
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
id <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Sun, 10 Mar 1996 07:53:10 -0600 (CST)
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 07:25:44 -0600 (CST)
Subject: teaching issues revisited
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful and useful comments on teaching
ecology courses from a feminist perspective in this electronic age. I'm going
to respond briefly to a few of those.
With regard to electronic versions of papers versus paper ones, I agree with
the folks who suggested that there MAY be ways to increase trash even with
computers. I wonder if diskettes aren't a worse option than a stack of twenty
pages, some ink and a staple -- all that plastic. I think email is the way to
go. Of course this means educating students to use ftp and to know what an
ascii file is, etc. Students (and faculty) also need to learn how to "capture"
information on their desktop and not generate more paper with it -- to put that
info into files on their hard drives or on a diskette. This should go hand in
hand with learning how to keep diskettes virus free.
The money and time issues are certainly going to be important on many campuses,
but at a small private college like Lawrence where almost everyone lives on
campus for four years -- and where rooms full of computers sit waiting with the
latest Netscape software already loaded -- these issues are less important.
Many students do have their own computers, but they don't need them to
surf the web or to write comments into a notes conference. It seems to me that
a PRIVATE computer in the room seems more necessary when one is writing the
traditional term paper. Nevertheless, when we have a network problem on campus,
I become aware of how many students are using computer labs to do their
coursework.
Because I rarely have a student who is older than 21 or who lives off campus
(let alone is married and has children!) the time constraint issues are also
not as important -- but elsewhere I would have to pay attention to them.
Since the comments on community service projects went both ways, I still don't
know what to do about the idea. I imagined not "assigning" anything (such as
the one prof had done -- going to the organizations and then having one student
work at each) but having the students design their own projects. Perhaps this
would eliminate the issue of me "telling students how to think" by sending them
off to one organization or another. The "formal" aspect of the project could
be done as an oral report (thus, no paper) -- that's a great idea, and it also
uses a different (but necessary) life skill.
We also tend to privilege one form of production over another -- students can
produce art or music (or performance art) as evidence of their learning
process.
Nevertheless, I am done standing in front of so-called ecology classes talking
the talk. It feels hypocritical and contradictory and I'm ready to do it a
different way.
Candice Bradley
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Mar 10 11:41:08 1996
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 10:40:29 -0800
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Fostering an Environmental Ethic
Thanks for the insights on Spiritual Direction. I know it isn't for everyone.
I tend to be a verbal person, so having someone to share my insights about my
spirituality with--who wants to listen and give me feedback--is important.
You are right I can do my own internal sense of truth and beauty. But
Spiritual Direction gives me a way to discern how to live out and "be" that
internal sense or essence of who I am.
As for "No Auto Pilot", let me be more clear. For me, auto pilot is about not
paying attention but simply reacting as I always have. This, I believe, is
where many get off center and don't live their beliefs such as those of the
environment. So "No Auto Pilot" is the opposite, or paying attention to how
one orchestrates their internal sense of awareness. Hope that helps out!
Peace to you all,
Sally Swart
