Environmental Justice and Feminist Pedagogy: A Conclusion

by Beth Berila

As the pieces by Di Chiro, Plevin, and Sze have illustrated, feminist pedagogy offers a productive framework through which to explore environmental justice issues. Environmental justice issues, in turn, offer invaluable sites for feminist praxis. The mutually enriching relationship between the two fields results from their similar values and practices. As the three preceding pieces reveal, feminist pedagogy often focuses on either decentering authority or on placing marginalized groups at the center of authority, processes we can also see happening in many environmental justice groups. Di Chiro notes that women, primarily women of color, are the leaders in many environmental justice efforts because their communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. These leaders build coalitions among community members in order to collectively protest the policies and practices that produce that exposure. As they do so, they articulate a stringent analysis of the racial, gendered, and class inequalities that undergird those policies. Moreover, as they claim authority, they center voices that are too often marginalized. All of these layers reflect values also found in feminist pedagogy. In addition, they offer tangible opportunities through which to engage students in feminist pedagogical experiences while contributing to much-needed social change.