I thank the authors of the chapters that follow—Vicky Adams, Monique LaRocque, Jeff Lockwood, Rick Magee, Eric Otto, Marnie Sullivan, and Theda Wrede—for their innovative contributions in bringing together ecocriticism and feminist literary criticism. I also wish to acknowledge the many scholars who, through their review of drafts of these chapters, have greatly strengthened and focused the final work.
For creating compelling cover art that captures the essence of the book in a visual form, I thank Julie Bayless (www.juliebayless.com).
In my work at the SETI Institute over the years, my colleagues have shared with me their insights about what it takes for civilizations to remain stable over the millennia. This book’s focus on environmental issues and sustainability is an outgrowth of those conversations. I especially thank Molly Bentley, Linda Bernardi, John Billingham, Steve Brockbank, Jenny Chynoweth, Edna DeVore, Frank Drake, Sophie Essen, Andrew Fraknoi, John Gertz, Gerry Harp, Gail Jacobs, Jane Jordan, Ly Ly, Chris Neller, Tom Pierson, Karen Randall, Jon Richards, John Ross, Pierre Schwob, Seth Shostak, and Jill Tarter.
More recently, I warmly acknowledge the administration, faculty, staff, and students of the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), especially for support from Joseph Subbiondo, Judie Wexler, and Tanya Wilkinson. The work of editing this volume was made possible through a generous sabbatical leave from my other academic responsibilities at CIIS in the spring of 2012. In addition, I thank Harry and Joyce Letaw, as well as Jamie Baswell, for their support of this work.
I am indebted to Justin Race for shepherding the book through the editorial process at Lexington Books. Sabah Ghulamali has my gratitude for helping to move the book swiftly and efficiently into production. I deeply appreciate Lindsey Porambo’s steadfast guidance and support in publishing the paperback edition of this book, as well as her ongoing leadership in developing Lexington Books’ Ecocritical Theory and Practice series. Finally, I thank Stephanie Brooks for conscientiously overseeing all aspects of the production process, as the final manuscript was transformed into the published volume you are now reading.
Douglas A. Vakoch
San Francisco and Mountain View, California