Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Xu, Wenying

Abstract

Ecofeminist theory exposes the androcentric monopoly of meaning-making and its resulting oppression of women, people of color, and the earth. Because women have been marginalized in historical and religious discourses, these theorists emphasize the need for women to develop an alternative, inclusive worldview that rejects binary, hierarchical thought. Like feminist theorists, Contemporary American women writers have also tackled the patriarchal oppression of Christianity and the omission of women's historical contributions in their fiction. In their works, authors like Toni Morrison, Linda Hogan, and Julia Alvarez have reimagined women's history by fictionalizing historical events. Despite racial differences, all three authors similarly detail the oppressive nature of the patriarchal worldview, reject binary thought, and utilize goddess figures as catalysts for awakening female consciousness. By detailing the characters' shift in consciousness, these novels act as a form of consciousnessraising for their readers, and can therefore be considered activist texts.

Extent

117 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FA00000912

Format

pdf

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