About the Book
Ecomartyrdom in the Americas:
Living and Dying for Our Common Home
Against the background of ecological devastation in the Americas, a growing list has emerged of environmental defenders whose care for our common home has cost them their lives. Ecomartyrdom in the Americas: Living and Dying for Our Common Home, explores the meaning of their witness in relation to three recent developments in contemporary Catholicism: the expanded understanding of martyrdom to include those who die in defense of justice and a preferential option for the poor; the expansion of Catholic social thought to include care for creation; and the call for interreligious dialogue and cooperation. Along with analysis of the economic forces that fuel ecological ruin and critical reflection on the theological meaning of ecomartyrdom, Ecomartyrdom in the Americas offers readers a glimpse into the lives and legacies of figures like Brazilian union leader Chico Mendes, American-born Sister Dorothy Stang, and Honduran Indigenous leader, Berta Cáceres. To learn more about this book, visit the publisher’s website here.
Table of Contents
Preface: Martyrs of Solidarity, Seeds of Hope
1. The Pillage of Our Common Home: Ecomartyrdom and Extractivism in the Americas
2. Fighting for Our Common Home: Extractivism and the Struggle for Environmental Justice in the Americas
3. Dying for Our Common Home: The Criminalization and Assassination of Environmental Defenders
4. Narrating the Witness: In Memory of Murdered Land and Environmental Defenders
5. Wellsprings of the Witness: The Ecological Imaginations of Land and Environmental Defenders
6. Remembering the Witness: Ecomartyrdom in Christian Theological Perspective
Conclusion: Responding to the Witness: Honoring Ecomartyrs with Our Lives
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About the Author
Elizabeth O'Donnell Gandolfo is the Edith B. and Arthur E. Earley Associate Professor of Catholic and Latin American Studies at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. As a constructive theologian rooted in the Catholic tradition, her teaching and research places Christian theology in conversation with human responses to vulnerability, suffering, violence, and oppression, especially in contexts of social injustice and ecological degradation. Dr. Gandolfo is the author, co-author, or co-editor of multiple articles, book chapters, and books. Along with Ecomartyrdom in the Americas, she recently co-authored a book about the ecclesial base communities of El Salvador with Laurel Marshall Potter, entitled Re-membering the Reign of God: The Decolonial Witness of El Salvador’s Church of the Poor.