ABSTRACT
Twentieth-century socialist governments in Europe were notorious for their mechanistic treatment of the natural environment. Nature was viewed as a force to be tamed in order to advance agricultural and industrial production. The inferior treatment of nature matched the treatment of women. This chapter examines the conceptions of ‘environment' and ‘nature' during socialism in Albania, connecting those to gender representations. To this end, the content of 13 symbolic products (literature, film, music, painting) is analysed. Those were served to the public during the socialist era and practically served as government propaganda. The timeline spans three decades, from the 1950s through the late 1980s, and the theoretical lens is ecofeminism. The analysis does not focus on artistic quality but rather seeks to elucidate the content as it relates to nature and the environment, and where possible, gender. The works cover various aspects of environmental management: urbanisation, agriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, mining, energy production, logging, forestry and land reclamation.
