Hillary Oppelmayer

Research project: (Eco)feminism and the Concept of Nature: A Critical Exploration of Dualism, Colonialism, and the Anthropocene

Abstract

This research critically explores the concept of nature from an ecofeminist perspective. It begins by examining the dualistic thinking of nature/culture and its role in sexism, colonialism, racism as well as the exploitation and appropriation of nature itself. It critiques the depoliticised rhetoric of environmentalism, deep ecology, and American ecological literature, highlighting the colonial fractures overlooked in their narratives. The research further delves into the crisis or end of nature in the Anthropocene, scrutinising Paul Crutzen's idea of displacing nature with technology and the erasure of violent acts against marginalised communities. The Gaia Thesis is evaluated for its potential to overcome the traditional concept of nature as posited by thinkers like James Lovelock and Bruno Latour. The research concludes with an examination of ecofeminism's potential to transform or overcome the concept of nature, questioning the possibility of an undomesticated, non-essentialist, and non-anthropocentric conception of nature.

  • Research degree: PhD
  • Title of project: (Eco)feminism and the Concept of Nature: A Critical Exploration of Dualism, Colonialism, and the Anthropocene
  • Research supervisor: Professor Howard Caygill
  • Other research supervisor: Professor Stella Sandford

Biography

I am currently a PhD researcher at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP) at Kingston University. My doctoral studies focus on a critical ecofeminist perspective of the paradoxical concept of nature. I also concentrate on the end or crisis of nature in the Anthropocene era and why it is problematic. My supervisors are Howard Caygill and Stella Sanford. Prior to this, I completed my MA thesis titled 'A Thesis against the Anthropocene. Slow Violence and (In)visibility to whom?' at CRMEP, under the guidance of Howard Caygill. My undergraduate degree was in Art History at the University of Vienna.

Areas of research interest

  • Contemporary Philosophy and Critical Theory
  • (Eco)feminism
  • Decolonial Ecology
  • Indigenous Philosophy

Qualifications

  • MA in Philosophy & Contemporary Critical Theory, Kingston University
  • BA in Art History, University of Vienna