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Environmental historian Carolyn Merchant will offer her analysis of the fall of the Garden of Eden in a Presidents Distinguished Lecture on "Reinventing Eden: Women, Nature and Narrative to be held Oct. 1 at 3:45 p.m. in Lafayette Building, Room 207. A reception will follow in John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill Building.

The mainstream or progressive narrative [of Western culture] is of a precipitous fall from Eden at the time of the Bible and then a long, slow recovery, up to today, Merchant explained in an interview with California Monthly, the alumni magazine for the University of California, Berkeley. The dissident or declensionist narrative, which is told by environmentalists and women and minorities, is that there was an Eden in the past--in the Pleistocene--where everything was wonderful: plants and animals had evolved but had not yet been despoiled by human intervention; since then, there's been a long, slow decline until we begin to get the beginnings of conservation--and now we need a rapid recovery to save humanity and the planet in the 21st century.

While Merchant recognizes the role both theories have played in shaping history, she believes that a new narrative is needed, one in which humans do not control nature. She therefore proposes a partnership ethic, where humans and nature interact equally, and where humans interact with one another equally without the divisions of gender and race.

A chancellors professor of environmental history, philosophy and ethics at UC Berkeley, Merchant studies American environmental and cultural history in the context of Western history, philosophy and science. Her work considers the role of consciousness and symbols in nature and how gender shapes environmental consciousness and ecological change.

Merchant is the author of several books including, Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture and The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution, which presents 16th century Western Enlightenment science as a quest for control over nature. She is also editor of Major Problems in American Environmental History, Key Concepts in Critical Theory: Ecology and Green Versus Gold: Sources in California's Environmental History.

The President's Distinguished Lecture Series was established by President Daniel Mark Fogel in October 2002. Funded by discretionary gift funds, the series brings top researchers to campus to enhance the academic experience, showcase faculty, students and programs, and bring the campus community together regularly.

Information: 656-2087 or Glen.Elder@uvm.edu

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