Call for Papers : Ecofeminist Drama: Theatre, Performance, and Ecological Futures

 

CFP Ecofeminist Drama

deadline for submissions: 

April 15, 2026

full name / name of organization: 

Isil Sahin Gulter / Firat University

contact email: 

igulter@firat.edu.tr

Call for Papers Ecofeminist Drama: Theatre, Performance, and Ecological Futures

Edited by Douglas A. Vakoch and Işıl Şahin Gülter
Under review with the University of Illinois Press

In 1974, Françoise d’Eaubonne introduced the term ecofeminism in Le féminisme ou la mort, articulating the interwoven domination of women and nature and calling for their collective liberation from systems of patriarchal and ecological exploitation. Since its emergence, ecofeminism has evolved into a dynamic and heterogeneous field encompassing philosophical inquiry, activist praxis, and interdisciplinary scholarship. Contemporary ecofeminist thought engages pressing questions of embodiment, care, environmental justice, material interdependence, and multispecies relationality in the context of accelerating ecological crisis.

Ecofeminist Drama: Theatre, Performance, and Ecological Futures seeks to extend this intellectual trajectory by examining how theatre and performance not only represent ecofeminist concerns but actively reshape and reconfigure ecofeminist theory through dramatic form, performative practice, and aesthetic experimentation. Rather than reiterating established binaries such as nature/culture, woman/nature, or human/nonhuman—this volume foregrounds theatre’s capacity to generate new epistemologies of ecological vulnerability, ethical responsibility, and relational survival.

We invite original scholarly contributions that investigate drama and performance as sites where ecofeminist thought is materially embodied, dramaturgically enacted, and politically reimagined. Particular attention will be given to chapters engaging contemporary theatre and performance and articulating how ecofeminism is transformed through theatrical aesthetics, performance politics, and formal innovation.

The volume is currently under review with the University of Illinois Press.

Confirmed Contributions

A sampling of the confirmed chapters includes:

• Shakespearean Ecofeminism – Hadley Kamminga-Peck (Western Illinois University, USA)
• Ecofeminist Adaptation: Carol Ann Duffy’s Everyman (2015) – Özlem Karadağ (Istanbul University, Turkey)
• The Ecofeminist Agenda of Modern Russian Drama – Katherine Anna New (Oriel College, Oxford University, UK)
• Cuts to the Bone: An Ecofeminist Analysis of Catherine Banks’ Bone Cage – Emily A. Rollie (Central Washington University, USA)
• Ecofeminist Dramaturgy and the Theatre of Extinction in Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone – Işıl Şahin Gülter (Fırat University, Turkey)
• Community Kinship, Species Sustainability, and Environmental Justice - Pranab Kumar Mandal (Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, India) & Saswati Halder (Jadavpur University, India)

Proposals should therefore avoid duplicating these topics.

Indicative Themes (Not Exhaustive)

We welcome contributions including, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Contemporary ecological and climate change theatre
• Posthuman and more-than-human performance practices
• Ecofeminism, disability, illness, and staged vulnerability
• Environmental justice and feminist dramaturgies
• Material ecocriticism and theatrical matter (bodies, objects, landscapes)
• Indigenous, decolonial, and Global South ecofeminist performance
• Queer ecofeminism and affective ecologies in theatre
• Care ethics, interdependence, and survival in dramatic narratives
• Ecofeminist adaptations and reworkings of canonical texts
• Performance activism and ecofeminist praxis
• Multispecies theatre and animal studies
• Ecofeminist scenography, sound design, and spatial ecologies

We are particularly interested in chapters that demonstrate how theatre and performance:

• extend and transform ecofeminist theory;
• challenge anthropocentric, patriarchal, and ableist environmental imaginaries;
• articulate innovative models of ecological ethics, relationality, and responsibility.

Submission Requirements

Interested scholars should submit:

• A 300-word abstract clearly outlining the chapter’s central argument, primary dramatic texts or performance practices, and its contribution to ecofeminist theatre studies
• A 200-word biographical note
• A list of 5–7 keywords
• Five key references

Abstracts should articulate a focused and original thesis and demonstrate how the proposed chapter advances ecofeminist thought through theatre and performance.

Only previously unpublished work will be considered. Contributors must hold a completed PhD. The editors seek a diverse and internationally representative group of scholars from theatre and performance studies, literary studies, environmental humanities, gender studies, and related disciplines.

Important Dates

Abstract deadline: 15 April 2026
Notification of acceptance: 30 April 2026
Full chapter submission: 30 August 2026

AI Policy

Contributors must adhere to the AI usage guidelines outlined in the Bloomsbury AI Policy for Authors and Illustrators (December 2025):

https://www.bloomsbury.com/media/0zxgch3t/ai-policy-for-authors-and-illustrators-dec-2025.pdf

For the purposes of this volume, “AI systems” include publicly accessible generative platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, and similar tools) as well as AI-enabled grammar and editing systems.

In accordance with these guidelines:

• Publicly accessible AI systems (free or paid) may not be used to generate, draft, rewrite, or substantially edit submitted chapters.
• Institutionally licensed or privately managed AI systems may be used solely for limited brainstorming or organizational assistance, not for composing substantive scholarly content.
• Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, intellectual integrity, and scholarly accuracy of their submissions.

All accepted contributors will be required to formally attest to compliance with these policies.

Submission Address

Please send all materials as a single document to:

Işıl ŞAHİN GÜLTER
igulter@firat.edu.tr