Riane Eisler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Riane Eisler
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| Born | July 22, 1931 Vienna, Austria
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| Nationality | Austrian |
| Other names | Riane Tennenhaus Eisler |
| Alma mater | University of California |
| Known for | The Chalice and the Blade, The Real Wealth of Nations (2008) |
| Spouse(s) | David Elliot Loye |
Riane Tennenhaus Eisler (born July 22, 1931) is an Austrian-born American systems scientist and author who writes about the effect of gender politics historically on society. She is most known for her 1987 book The Chalice and the Blade, in which she coined the terms "partnership" and "dominator".
Life
Eisler was born in Vienna in 1931 before her family fled from the Nazis in 1939 to Cuba. She and her parents lived in a slum in Havana for seven years, after which they emigrated to the United States, to Miami, New York, and Chicago before finally settling in Los Angeles. Eisler has degrees in sociology and law from the University of California. She is an attorney, legal scholar and author. She has published thirteen books, including one memoir, The Gate, published in 2000. Her first book, published in 1977, was Dissolution: No-Fault Divorce, Marriage, and the Future of Women. Her second book, published in 1979, was on the Equal Rights Amendment.
In her third book The Chalice and the Blade, published in 1987, she coined the terms "partnership" and "dominator" to describe the two underlying forms of society. Partnership societies are characterized by gender equality, peace, sustainability, caring, while dominator societies are characterized by sexism, chronic war, ecological destruction, and unsustainability. According to her research, which references the work of archaeologists Marija Gimbutas and James Mellaart, among others, for millennia human societies were built on partnership, in which human capacity to give, nurture and sustain life was held in the highest regard, and shared responsibility was the gold standard. The fall into domination occurred around 6,500 years ago.
The Chalice and the Blade has sold over 500,000 copies and been translated into around 25 languages.
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She is editor-in-chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies at the University of Minnesota.
The Center for Partnership Studies
In 1987, in partnership with her husband David Elliot Loye, Eisler founded The Center for Partnership Studies, which was later renamed The Center for Partnership Systems. The organization is "dedicated to research, education, and building tools to construct economic and social systems that support human beings and the planet that sustains us."
Influence
Philosopher Terence McKenna referenced Eisler's work throughout his writings and talks, including in The Archaic Revival. Eisler's term dominator culture has been used by writers ranging from bell hooks to Tao Lin.
Ashley Montagu called her book The Chalice and the Blade “The most important book since Darwin’s Origin of Species." Isabel Allende said of the book: "Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities."
See also
In Spanish: Riane Eisler para niños
- Marija Gimbutas
- James Mellaart
