| The thesis of this work is that it is possible to devise action strategies for responding to the crisis in agriculture that are capable of addressing both the concerns of farm or rural women and those of ecologists, and that the United Church of Canada has already articulated many such strategies.;A contextual theological ethic---based primarily upon the critical principles of contextual theology but supplemented by particular theological, social, feminist and comparative ethical perspectives---is used to analyze the Canadian agricultural context. The analysis of the major subject of this dissertation, agriculture, begins with clarification of the perspective on the agricultural crisis of one oppressed group---that of farm women. Then, by pointing to the diversity, inconsistencies and omissions within it, that perspective is problematized. As a means of addressing one major area of weakness identified, specifically what appears to be inadequate attention on the part of farm women to profound ecological issues, the perspectives of different types of ecologists are examined. First, the viewpoints of the Canadian authors of ecologically sensitive agricultural works, and then those of three broad ecophilosophies, are considered. Once the positions of farm women and ecologists are assessed in relation to the three styles of agriculture, conclusions are drawn about what objectives for agriculture might satisfy the combined interests of farm women and their families, and of the ecosphere. These criteria are then used to refine the agriculture policies advanced by the United Church of Canada and to clarify future actions. Finally, the work itself is examined in relation to the principles of contextual theology which inform it.*.;*Originally published in DAI Vol. 56, No. 12. Reprinted here with corrected school name. |
