Call for Papers｜Ecofeminist Drama: Theatre, Performance, and Ecological Futures (Submission Deadline: March 30)
Seeking chapters on Southeast Asian theatre for the edited volume Ecofeminist Drama: Theatre, Performance, and Ecological Futures, currently 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. To ensure global representation, we especially welcome chapters focused on Southeast Asian plays and performance to complement already confirmed chapters (see below for a sampling).
Themes:
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.
For a list of indicative themes, find here
Who Should Apply
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.
Submission Details
- Abstract deadline: March 30, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: April 15, 2026
- Full chapter submission: July 30, 2026
Submission Format
- Abstract length: 300 words – 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
- Only previously unpublished work will be considered.
AI Policy
Contributors must adhere to the AI usage guidelines outlined in the Bloomsbury AI Policy for Authors and Illustrators (December 2025):
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.
Submit all materials as a single document to: Işıl Şahin Gülter
For further enquiry, contact Işıl Şahin Gülter