Director, Environmental Studies
Professor of English

STUDY QUESTIONS

bell hooks, “Touching the Earth”
At Home on the Earth, 51-56

1. “When we love the earth, we are able to love ourselves more fully.” Sounds nice, but is this true? Why would it be true?

2. hooks associates Native Americans and early African-Americans in their reverence for the forces of nature and in mutual assistance. Have you ever encountered that association before in our culture? If not, why not, and what might that say about our culture?

3. hooks also states that “black people were first and foremost a people of the land, farmers.” Is this an image you have for African-Americans? Where does you image or images come from?

4. How does hooks portray the life of rural southern blacks? Why was Onnie Lee Logan happy? Do you see potential problems with this view?

5. What does hooks say about the significance of the body? Why is its relationship to our connection to nature? Do you see a connection between the body and nature?

6. What does hooks recommend to overcome this estrangement? Is this something you could draw on in your life? Do you think growing your own food would give you a sense of connection with your ancestors?

7. hooks argues that for blacks “the way we regard land and nature will determine the level of our self-regard” (56). Do you think this is true for white Americans?

8. What does Berry say about health in the final quotation? Do you agree?

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