Unforgetting ‘old’ materialisms: ecofeminist education for the Trumpocene

In an era scholars have termed the ‘Trumpocene,’ characterized by wilful forgetting of histories of exploitation and denial of environmental crisis, environmental education faces critical challenges. In this article, following Gough’s call to reconcile historical amnesias in environmental education, I examine how these broader politics of forgetting intersect with tendencies in academic knowledge production that often marginalise or overlook established theoretical frameworks–particularly feminist perspectives–in the pursuit of theoretical novelty. Drawing on Annette Gough’s work, I explore how ‘unforgetting’ materialist ecofeminist insights can strengthen environmental education’s response to contemporary socio-ecological challenges. The article demonstrates how materialist ecofeminism has long offered sophisticated analyses of the interconnections between environmental destruction, capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and colonialism, while also providing practical strategies for movement-building, such as those evident in environmental movements across the Global South. Rather than positioning old and new theoretical approaches in opposition, I argue for a both/and approach that recognizes how materialist ecofeminist perspectives offer both sophisticated theoretical tools for analysing intersecting systems of oppression and demonstrated strategies for collective resistance–from seed saving movements to forest protection initiatives–that challenge the commodification of life and labour under global capitalism.