FYI...
Stefanie Rixecker
ECOFEM Coordinator
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 1998 08:48:33 -0500 (EST)
From: Janice A Stryz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Jan Stryz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
CALL FOR PAPERS:
Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment
June 2-5, 1998
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI
*Nature and Belief in American Communal Societies*
In *The Death of Nature*, Carolyn Merchant points to seventeenth-
century English sects such as the Diggers and the Ranters that
sought to establish "egalitarian communal societies like those
attempted by the medieval millenarian utopists." They challenged not
only the socio-economic hierarchy of their time, but the emerging
mechanistic world-view on which it was based, according to Merchant.
While the lessons of science taught the general populace that the
material world could be subjected to human control, these sects drew
from the thought of Paracelcus to envision a nature filled with God,
of which they were a part.
Communal societies guided by religious precepts, such as those
mentioned by Merchant, have sprouted across the American landscape
throughout its history. Few studies of such sommunities have taken
any sustained look at questions concerning the relationship between
man and nature raised by current environmentalist thought. This
panel will examine the philosophies that underlie the practices of
various American communal societies, from their earliest appearances
to the present day. Pertinent issues to address include:
* How do religious precepts of the group define nature and the
relation between man and nature?
* Is the religious philosophy of the group based on an
interpretation of some biblical text, or any other text? Has the
community generated its own written texts articulating the beliefs
of the group? To what extent is the place of nature within the
practical structure of the community mediated by written texts?
* Is there any relationship between the place of women in the
community, and the philosophy of nature implied or directly stated
within the belief system of the community?
* Historically, certain communities have experienced a weakening in
their spiritual practices and convictions as their material fortunes
improved. Does the community's attitude toward nature play any role
in the changes in its fortunes?
* What is the connection between the group's millenialist
philosophy (presuming it has one) and its relation to nature? What
implications does this have for us, as we simultaneously confront
the exhaustion of natural resources, possibilities of economic
collapse, and a rash of apocalyptic visions occasioned by the coming
millenial year?
Please send one-page papers proposals by Dec. 30, 1998 to Dr. Jan
Stryz, Aquinas College, 1607 Robinson Rd. S.E., Grand Rapids MI
49506. Questions regarding proposals may be e-mailed to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker
Division of Environmental Management & Design
Lincoln University, Canterbury
PO Box 84
Aotearoa New Zealand
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: 64-03-325-3841
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