Review of Ecofeminist Science Fiction: International Perspectives on Gender, Ecology and Literature (2021), edited by Douglas A. Vakoch

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph of the article's introduction:

"Science fiction serves to further valorize science as a tool for domination, not only of Earth but of the fictious worlds beyond” (148), argue Lydia Rose and Teresa M. Bartoli in their contribution to Ecofeminist Science Fiction: International Perspectives on Gender, Ecology and Literature (2021). As Douglas A. Vakoch’s edited collection proves, however, science fiction can also serve as a means to explore alternative—ecofeminist—forms of living. Mainly focusing on debates around technology, gender, and the environment, the 14 contributions to Ecofeminist Science Fiction examine examples of science fiction in literature and on screen.. Each contribution foregrounds “alternative modes to help prevent the replication of oppressive patterns” (113) by presenting analyses whose structuring ideas can be adapted to read materials beyond those discussed in the assembled contributions. Vakoch does not claim to have collected essays that provide a definite reading- or watch-list for scholars interested in ecofeminism and science fiction; rather, the selected essays bring together established and new scholarly perspectives on gender, technology, and the nature/culture binary and offer insights into how discourses and debates surrounding this set of topics are projected into different, sometimes posthuman futures. The articles are clustered into four sections, whose titles do not always indicate precisely what the essays have in common. The essays differ in quality, some would have benefitted from more thorough editing. Still, Vakoch has delivered an intriguing volume on science fiction for the series Routledge Studies in World Literatures and the Environment.