The Links Between Environmental Justice and Feminist Pedagogy: An Introduction

by Beth Berila

Given the emphasis on education and consciousness-raising that pervades many environmental justice movements, it seems inevitable to draw parallels between feminist pedagogy and environmental justice. Both environmental justice issues and feminist pedagogy address intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and nation; both combine theory and practice; both involve radically rethinking deeply held assumptions; and both reveal the ideologies and power dynamics that inform language, policies, and practices. Environmental justice issues can prove immensely useful for a feminist pedagogy because of the ways they make these tenets tangible. This cluster of articles examines the mutually enriching relationships that are possible between environmental justice issues and feminist pedagogy. After tracing some of the theoretical commonalities between the two, the subsequent essays in the cluster offer three different frameworks for incorporating environmental justice issues into the college classroom and discuss the insights these frameworks reveal.