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Theology, Ecology, and Natural Science
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 Serving Church and Academy Since 1954 |
Theology, Ecology, and Natural Science
2022 Call for Papers
Paul Schutz, Santa Clara University (CA)
Benjamin Hohman, Boston College (MA)
The logic that led to slavery and segregation in the Americas, colonization and apartheid in
Africa, and the rule of white supremacy throughout the world is the same one that leads to the
exploitation of animals and the ravaging of nature. It is a mechanistic and instrumental logic that
defines everything and everybody in terms of their contribution to the development and defense
of white world supremacy. People who fight against white racism but fail to connect it to the
degradation of the earth are anti-ecological, whether they know it or not. People who struggle
against ecological injustice but do not incorporate in it a disciplined and sustained fight against
white supremacy are racists, whether they acknowledge it or not. The fight for justice cannot be
segregated but must be integrated with the fight for life in all its forms.
We invite papers in this spirit, including papers that directly engage Cone’s essay. We especially
encourage papers that center BIPOC voices, contend with white supremacy, and attend to embodied
pedagogy.
Specific topics might include:
● The intersection of coloniality and racism with the logic of the technocratic paradigm, extractive
capitalism, and ecological degradation;
● Pope Francis’s discussions of indigenous culture and wisdom in L audato Si’;
● Contending with the absence of race from L audato Si’ and envisioning the explicit incorporation
of race in an “integral ecology” (i.e. a racial ecology);
● The dominance of whiteness in ecological theology and theology and science;
● The history of faith-based racial and ecological activism in places such as Warren County, NC,
Flint, MI, and Standing Rock;
● Environmental racism (i.e. toxic waste/landfill distribution; access to green space, etc.) in and
beyond ecclesial contexts;
● The history of scientific arguments for racism and eugenics (i.e. social Darwinism);
● Ecowomanist responses to racism, sexism, and ecological degradation;
● Racism in medicine, including experimentation, medical apartheid, and vaccine inequity;
● Pedagogies that denounce racism and speak for racial justice in the field of theology, ecology, and
science;
Special Collaborative Session: With Arts, Media, Literature, and Religion, we also aim to co-sponsor a
session on afro-futurism and science fiction. How might imaginary worlds help us reflect on racism,
ecology, and the future of the church? Projects engaging the work of authors such Samuel Delaney, NK
Jemisin, and Octavia Butler are particularly welcome. Projects that engage afrofuturist and sci-fi themes
in the visual arts and film are also welcome.
The College Theology Society is a registered, non-profit professional society and a Related Scholarly Organization of the American Academy of Religion. |
