3. Petra Kelly: Transnational Green Politics and Dark Green Spirituality

Third chapter of Stephen Milder et al.’s virtual exhibition, Petra Kelly: Life and Legacy of a Transnational Green Activist.

Petra Kelly: Life and Legacy of a Transnational Green Activist

This exhibition considers the transnational life and legacy of the activist and cofounder of the West German Green Party, Petra Kelly. The exhibition shows how Kelly’s transatlantic childhood and education enabled her to become a transnational activist. It follows the connections to friends, companions, and fellow activists all over the globe that shaped her approach to green politics and underpinned her contributions to the peace movement. Examining how the German and international press reported on Kelly, the exhibition reflects on how her profile as a Green celebrity was shaped. An analysis of the spiritual dimensions of Kelly’s green politics demonstrates how “deep green” frameworks helped the activist to think beyond the boundaries of “politics as usual.” Finally, the exhibition looks at Kelly’s legacy, considering how her ideas and her career have resonated differently in different parts of the world.

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About the author

Nichols, Amanda M.

University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

Amanda M. Nichols is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her primary research, which falls at the intersections of environmental history and religious and gender studies, focuses on the roles and contributions of women in the North American antinuclear movement. Using ethnographic research methods, her work contributes to the growing corpus of literature in intersectional environmentalism and religious studies that illuminates the contributions of women to environment-related, or environment-focused, social movements.

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