Sustainability, Ecology, and Care
Feminist Economics invites papers for a new special issue on ‘Sustainability, Ecology, and Care’.
Caring, both in the practical sense of hands-on carework and in the emotional and ethical sense of “caring about,” has been a central focus of feminist economics. Feminist economists have reclaimed care as a subject of economic analysis, delving into its implications for economic methodology and advocating for appropriate support for carework activities directed toward the young, very old, and ill. Feminist economists have at times also engaged with the pressing problem of environmental deterioration – exemplified by crises such as climate change, species extinction, and water scarcity – but the analysis is not as advanced. Ecological economics has at times incorporated questions of gender in its analyses, but here again the inquiry is limited.
Yet, while the fields of feminist and ecological economics have engaged in only limited ways to date, they have much in common. They strive to get recognition for essential services that are unaccounted for by markets (emotional work, nature’s life-support services), and they are developing alternatives to the exploitation of people and nature. We believe that a more thorough cross-fertilization between the fields of feminist economics and ecological economics could open new horizons. To bring more attention to this agenda, Feminist Economics invites submissions to a planned special issue on sustainability, ecology, and care.
The special issue is planned for print publication in January 2018 (with advance online publication in 2017). Feminist Economics especially welcomes contributions from the Global South and transition economies.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Can an ecologically sustainable economy also be socially sustainable and just, especially regarding gender? Taking this question a step further: Can the pursuit of ecological concerns work as a justice lever, that is, as an opportunity to reduce disparities in human development?
- To what extent can feminist analyses of care for people be extended to care for the environment?
- To what extent can concepts and methods developed within ecological economics — for example, the ideas of resilience, incommensurability of values, uneconomic growth – enrich feminist economics?
- How are men’s and women’s approaches to sustainability, ecology, and care shaped by economic and cultural circumstances?
- Are there policy agendas – such as changes in patterns of working hours – that could serve both feminist and ecological ends?
- Are there commonalities in the sources of resistance – among economists, other social scientists, policymakers and the public – to recognizing feminist and ecological concerns?
- Are there points of important difference between feminist and ecological approaches? Can they be reconciled, or not?
Submission details
Please send paper titles and abstracts (up to 250 words) along with your name and institutional affiliation, telephone, and email address to the to the Guest Editors at feministeconomics@rice.edu, no later than 15 February 2016. Indicate “Sustainability” in the subject line. (Queries should also be directed to the Guest Editors at this email address.)
If the Guest Editors approve the abstract, the complete manuscript will be due by 31 July 2016 and should be submitted to Feminist Economics through the submissions website.
Papers must be clearly written in English and not exceed 10,000 words, including tables and references. They must also adhere to journal style and formatting. For questions about these procedures, please contact feministeconomics@rice.edu, +1.713.348.4083 (phone), or +1.713.348.5495 (fax).
This issue is being supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Rice University.
Editorial information
- Guest Editor: Julie A. Nelson
- Guest Editor: Marilyn Power
- Guest Editor: Sigrid Stagl
