6th Global Conference
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Monday 2nd July - Thursday 5th
July 2007
Mansfield College, Oxford
Session 3: Pedagogy, Citizenship and Conflict
Chair: Mark Dixon
Ecocomposition Pedagogy: The Environmental Imperative for L’écriture
Féminine
Mary
Stroud
Department of English,
Loyola Marymount University, USA
The essentially untapped discipline of “ecocomposition,” a
term coined by composition theorists Sidney I. Dobrin and Christian R.
Weisser, offers unlimited
theoretical potential for addressing issues of environmental urgency
through the forum of the college composition classroom. Broaching the
topic of global environmental crisis in the writing classroom usually
takes the shape of assigning texts that encourage environmental literacy
through a content-based approach. However, the foundational tenets of “ecocomposition” insist
on a paradigm shift in the way that we perceive of the transmission of
ecological ethics and knowledge. Dobrin and Weisser claim that the act
of writing must be perceived as an ecological act in and of itself, what
they call the practice of “discursive ecology.” This theory
encourages students to “explore writing and writing processes as
systems of interaction, economy, and interconnectedness” (116).
However, Dobrin and Weisser devote little attention to examining practical
applications of “discursive ecology.” They only insist that
their assertions align their philosophy neatly with theoretical approaches
that resist “hegemonies which oppress nature in ways similar to
the oppression of women and other colonized groups” (20). Hence,
it is my contention that an examination into the theories of French feminist
Hélène Cixous’ l’écriture féminine
yields distinct possibilities for the development of ecocomposition praxis.
This essay examines these possibilities through a parallel investigation
into the contentions of Dobrin and Weisser and Hélène Cixous
in her essay “The Laugh of the Medusa.” The investigation
demonstrates how both theories seek to encourage vitality through diversity,
embracing writing as an inherently relational act contingent upon an
interdisciplinary world-view that perceives people, writing, culture,
and all life on Earth as an ecologically interconnected web of relationships.
Building Citizenship on Environmental Local Problems in Mexico
Medardo
Tapia Uribe
National University, CRIM, UNAM, Mexico
The purpose
of this research is to describe how schooling, media and an active citizenship
contribute to people’s understanding of their
local environment problems and to the start up of initiatives that contribute
to the region’s sustainable development, Morelos, southern neighbour
state of Mexico city. We asked ourselves three questions: How knowledge
and social context contribute to their environment’s local problems
understanding? How do they use such knowledge to define their own
responsibility as well as its government’s about environment problems? How
do they use their cultural, social and symbolic capital to discuss and
take on their responsibilities of doing something about their local environment
problems?
We used several kinds of research methodological tools. Two kinds
of surveys, one among a probabilistic sample of families living in Morelos’ most
populated river micro basin, Apatlaco; another among a probabilistic sample of
junior high school and high school students of the same river micro basin area.
Our research site included forest and municipalities of the highlands of Cuernavaca’s
metropolitan area as well as its ravines and low deciduous jungle. We also carried
out open ended interviews among citizens, students and teachers surveyed. We
analyzed junior high school and high school civic and science programs.. We also
analyzed main local newspapers debate between 2000 and 2006.
This research has been funded by the Mexican Ministry of Science and Technology
and the Mexican Ministry of Environment since 2004.
Understanding Rural Community Conflict Using
Network Analysis: A Case Study of a Proposed Coal-Fired Power
Plant in the Southwestern United States
Susan
E. Dawson and Gary E. Madsen Utah State University, Logan, Utah,
USA
China, India, and the United States by 2012 are expected to emit 2.7 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. The U.S. is considering building about 150 plants that are controversial because of greenhouse-gas emissions and environmental toxins. This paper is based upon a case study of a rural South-western U.S. homogeneous community in which a proposed coal-fired power plant is creating community conflict over economic, health, environmental, and quality of life issues. The study was initiated because of a recent oil strike in the community; however, it soon became apparent that the plant siting was the major focus of controversy rather than the oil strike. We conducted 31 interviews using network mapping, analyzing network structures that were focused on the power plant controversy. In the interviews, the respondents discussed their perceptions of economic development. Two fairly distinct social network cliques were identified with little interaction taking place between them. One was largely supportive of the plant, while the other was largely opposed. Within each clique, there were some who were opposed mainly to the plant location. We present qualitative data that identify the different types of reasoning behind the respondents’ support or non-support of the power plant. In addition, an indication of public positions on the issue is presented. Theoretical issues involving NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) are discussed in light of the complexity of the responses identified in this case study. Important environmental justice implications are discussed regarding groups and decision-making. Unlike many environmental justice studies, the major players in this conflict are represented by powerful individuals within the community. Mapping these network structures and identifying the major reasons for support or non-support of the coal-fired power plant may point to an emerging pattern of community responses to such environmental issues.