Dr. Barbara Bennett’s lecture, sponsored by the Humanities Division, drew a large crowd of students, staff, faculty and community members to Evans Auditorium on the evening of November 29. Her talk, titled “‘The Devils of Creation’: Ecofeminism and the Saving of the World,” addressed
ecofeminism, a social movement that regards the oppression of women and nature as interconnected and has in recent years grown to encompass the connections of gender, race, class and nature.
Using a spider web as a metaphor, Bennett explained how everything on the planet is interconnected. If you touch one string, it reverberates all around. She encouraged the audience as individuals to do small things that make a difference. Bennett said that one person recycling or going meatless one day a week can have a positive impact on the lives of others around the world.
Lees-McRae was very fortunate to have Bennett on campus to share her insight and answer questions on ecofeminism. Dr. Bennett received her Ph.D. in 1994 from Arizona State University and taught at several institutions including Georgia Southwestern State University and Wake Forest University before moving to the English Department at North Carolina State University, where she is Associate Professor of English focusing on American and southern literature.
She is the author of two books, Comic Visions, Female Voices: Contemporary Women Novelists and Southern Humor (LSU Press, 1998) and Understanding Jill McCorkle (USC Press, 2000), and is currently working on a project about ecofeminism and literature called Scheherazade’s Daughters: The Power of Ecofeminist Storytelling.