Research Thursdays - New book by Jane Caputi, Ph.D., professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
“Call Your “Mutha’”: A Deliberately Dirty-Minded Manifesto for the Earth Mother in the Anthropocene”
Oxford University Press, 2020
Jane Caputi, Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Communication and Multimedia Studies, recently published the book “Call Your “Mutha’”: A Deliberately Dirty-Minded Manifesto for the Earth Mother in the Anthropocene.” Caputi argues that the ecocide and domination of nature that is the Anthropocene does not represent the actions of all humans, but that of Man, the Western and masculine identified corporate, military, intellectual and political class that long has masked itself as the civilized and the human. Drawing upon Indigenous and African American, ecofeminism, ecowomanism, green activism, femme, queer and gender non-binary philosophies, literature and arts, Afrofuturism, and popular culture images, “Call Your "Mutha’” contends that the Anthropocene is not evidence so much of Man’s supremacy, but instead a sign that Mother Nature-Earth, faced with disrespect, is turning away, withdrawing the support systems necessary for life and continuance. The book first critiques the geological Anthropocene as also a philosophical and theological phenomenon. It then goes on to consider the ways in which respect for the autonomous and potent Earth Mother – and a call for their return – has already reasserted itself into our political and popular culture.
“I wrote this book as an outraged response to the Anthropocene (The Age of Man) – a name being proposed to recognize a new geological age where humans are said to be the dominant force of change on the planet long known as Mother Earth. Some commentators define this shift as indicative of human superiority and achievement; others point to the Anthropocene as the culmination of the ill effects of Western culture’s longstanding philosophical and religious goal to dominate nature, enabled through capitalism and colonialism. I agree with the latter and necessarily include gendered hierarchy and sexualized domination into the analysis.”
– Jane Caputi, Ph.D., Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Caputi’s primary research is in contemporary American cultural studies, including popular culture, gender and violence, and ecofeminism. She was FAU’s Distinguished Teacher of the year for 2001, and received FAU’s Research and Scholarly Activities Award (Professor level) for 2005 and 2012. In 2013, she was named “Feminist of the Year” by the Palm Beach County National Organization for Women and in 2016, she was named Eminent Scholar of the Year by the American Culture/Popular Culture Association. In 2020 the Association for the Study of Women in Mythology gave her their annual Saga Award, recognizing contributions to women’s history and culture. She has made two educational documentaries: “The Pornography of Everyday Life” (2006) and “Feed the Green: Feminist Voices for the Earth” (2015). Caputi’s other books include “The Age of Sex Crime” (1987), “Gossips, Gorgons and Crones: The Fates of the Earth” (1993), and “Goddesses and Monsters: Women, Myth, Power and Popular Culture” (2004). She has also conceptualized and co-curated three visual cultural exhibits on presidential popular culture sponsored by the FAU Schmidt Galleries: “Political Circus” (2008), “Political Sideshow” (2016) and “Political Pandemonium” (2020).
“Call Your “Mutha’”: A Deliberately Dirty-Minded Manifesto for the Earth Mother in the Anthropocene” is available through Oxford University Press
(Printable Version)
