Land Names and Cultural
Attitudes Towards Environment
Lisa Franzetta
The thesis I am writing for my A.B. concentration in Environmental Studies
explores how land names and land-naming in America are reflective of
cultural attitudes about the environment, particularly the notions of
gender embedded in these cultural attitudes. For example, early settlers
in North America invoked the name of the colony of Virginia in their
metaphorical descriptions of the land as "virginal," fertile ground,
awaiting seduction or rape by the European settlers. What do different
land names say about the attitudes of the namers towards the landscape--do
they reflect an imperialist conquest, provide a utilitarian description of
the land's commodities, suggest a sense of awe, love, or reverence for the
land? Given that the power of land naming has traditionally been in the
hands of men (be they explorers, settlers, or property-owners), how do
these names reflect patriarchal attitudes toward the environment, if they
do at all? Further, since women have historically been denied the agency
of land-naming, what alternative ways have they chosen to "name" the
landscape; examples are both historical (author Mary Austin rejected
European place names in favor of pre-existing Native American place names)
and literary (author Ursula Le Guin creates a world where Eve unnames what
Adam has named). An exploration of feminist geography will provide a
further understanding of gender and place as these issues relate to land
naming.