Online Course – Queer Ecofeminism and the Climate Polycrisis

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Queer Ecofeminism and the Climate Polycrisis: Introduction and Critical Frameworks

In an era defined by climate disasters like wildfires, floods, heatwaves, ecological collapse, our dominant paradigms are failing. Queer Ecofeminism, as a discipline, refuses to compartmentalize: it disrupts the binary between human and non-human, challenges the extractive impulses of colonial-capitalist ecologies, and centers relational care, intimacy, and plurality. Drawing on cutting-edge ecofeminist and queer ecological work, including recent scholarship, interdisciplinary queer climate justice anthologies, and the latest on queer/trans approaches to climate adaptation and survival, this course offers a radical rethinking of how we understand global ecological crises.

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About the Course

Led by the founder of The Ecofeminist Institute, Dr. Asmae Ourkiya, this course invites participants, academics, researchers, and activists alike, to collectively explore and rethink our understanding of ecofeminism through an expanded lens of queer ecological theory and relational care. Anchored in foundational ecofeminist thought, we will probe how binaries like human/non-human, natural/cultural, and living/non-living uphold both ecological violence and gendered, ableist, and racialised hierarchies. Through a blend of theoretical readings, creative exercises, and peer-to-peer feedback, participants will experiment with queering nature: envisioning kinship, fluidity, and care as radical alternatives to domination and destruction. Drawing upon queer ecology scholarship , the course challenges the participants to reimagine ecological crises not as external threats to be managed, but as entangled political, epistemic, and emotional landscapes where new forms of relational knowledge and plural futures can emerge.

Course Goals & Deliverables

Core Objectives

1. Queer Intersectional Ecofeminism 101
The course kicks of with an introduction to Queer Intersectional Ecofeminism, where participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of ecofeminist theory. We will analyse how ecofeminism connects feminist and environmental concerns, critiques patriarchal domination, and promotes egalitarian, holistic ways of relating to both women*, indiginous communities, postcolonial countries, LGBTQIA2S+ people, and the Earth.

2. Situating Queer Ecofeminism within Crisis Contexts
The course will build on foundational queer intersectional ecofeminist concepts by incorporating queer ecological perspectives. It will examine how non-normative identities and relationalities offer fresh tools to think through climate disasters such as wildfires, floods, heatwaves, displacement, and ecosystem collapse.

3. Deconstruct Hierarchies and Binaries
Participants will investigate how ecofeminist scholarship challenges dominant dualisms (human/non-human, natural/cultural, living/non-living, etc.) and expose their roots in patriarchal and capitalist logic. Through a collaborative session, they will address how these structures sustain ecological violence and gendered and racialised exploitation.

4. Cultivate Pluriversal, Care-Centered Futures
We will explore ecofeminist political ecology and materialist ecofeminism to (re)imagine decentralized, intersectional, and ecological alternatives to extractive global systems.

5. Apply Practice-Based Methodologies
Through a collaborative workshop and peer feedback, participant will experiment with ecofeminist and queer methods such as creative writing, mapping, and speculative exercises, to prototype research or activist work that embodies relationality and ecological care beyond dominative frameworks.

6. Produce Tangible Scholarly Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will have drafted a project brief, recorded a short presentation, and written a critical reflection essay that situates their work within feminist, queer, and ecological literature, thus blending theory, praxis, and academic rigor.

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be handed a certificate of participation and completion of the course.

Enrollment

This course is limited to 15 participants and follows a first come, first served basis.

Course Fee: €300
Dates: Sundays — 11, 18, and 25 January 2026

Format: Live on Zoom (recordings provided)

To reserve your spot, please complete the enrollment form. Early application is strongly encouraged due to limited capacity.

Application Deadline: 31 October 2025, or earlier as soon as all spots are filled.

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Feature Image: Clay PCB / Patrícia J. Reis (PT), Stefanie Wuschitz (AT). The project utilized artistic processes to unravel the ecological impact and human rights violations inherent in hardware production. The goal was to raise awareness and generate knowledge on alternative commodity chains for hardware production. Following principles of de-growth, it called for decentralized, ethical and sustainable forms of manufacturing electronics. Building on their expertise in queering technology, the artists aimed to decolonize technology using feminist hacking principles. Eco-feminist decolonial hardware. “Clay PCB / Patrícia J. Reis (PT), Stefanie Wuschitz (AT)” by Ars Electronica is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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ASMAE OURKIYA

Researcher
Dr. Asmae Ourkiya (pronounced Es-muh) (They/Them) is the Founder and Director of The Ecofeminist Institute, an organisation dedicated to providing education, training, consultancy, and research services to people and other organisations by providing holistic approaches towards addressing climate change and environmental challenges. Dr. Ourkiya obtained their Ph.D. degree from Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick after successfully defending their thesis titled “Queer Ecofeminism: From Binary Environmental Endeavours to Postgender Pursuits”, which has been published as a book by Bloomsbury Publishing. Dr. Ourkiya is currently writing their second book, titled Queer Intersectional Ecofeminism: Theories, Practices, and Future Directions to be published by Springer Nature in late 2027. To contact them, email contact@theecofeministinstitute.com or visit www.theecofeministinstitute.com

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