Vandana Shiva to speak on environment and activism

Vandana Shiva

Dr. Vandana Shiva, a physicist, activist and writer, will deliver a lecture Tuesday, April 10, at 5 p.m. at W101 Thompson Hall. Informal meetings with students and faculty are also planned during her day-long visit to the SUNY Fredonia campus.

Following her lecture at Thompson Hall, Dr. Shiva will host a question-and-answer session, 5:45 to 6 p.m. A book-signing/reception follows from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. in Café G at the Williams Center. Her itinerary also includes attending the WOST 301 Feminist Theory class taught by Dr. Adrienne McCormick that morning and meeting with women’s studies students and faculty in the afternoon.

A prolific writer, Dr. Shiva’s recent books examine the appropriation of natural resources by agribusinesses. Her writings address the connections between the global economy, biopiracy and women’s rights, while emphasizing the connectedness of all people on the planet. Her ongoing message is that all people must work together to promote earth democracy, an attentiveness to the earth’s resources and a protective attitude to ecological well-being.

In her 1997 book “Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge,” Dr. Shiva argues that the patenting of seeds that companies pirate from indigenous farmers represents a new form of colonization, which she fears will result in environmental degradation.

Other publications authored by Dr. Shiva include: “Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution and Profit” (2002); and “Earth Democracy, Justice, Sustainability and Peace” (2005). She has published or edited 20 books and hundreds of articles in scientific journals, writing extensively on how today’s agricultural practices will determine world health in the future.

Two organizations that she founded – Navdanya and The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology – are committed to environmentally sustainable forms of agriculture and farming. Her visit at Fredonia dovetails nicely with this year’s convocation theme, and will build on current interest in Women’s Studies on the role of women in the natural and environmental sciences.

Sponsors of Dr. Shiva’s visit include: Women’s Student Union; Women’s Studies Program; English Department/Mary Louise White Fund of the Fredonia College Foundation; Convocation Committee; Faculty Student Association; Academic Affairs; College of Arts and Humanities; College of Natural and Social Sciences and Professional Studies; and the International Education Center.