Recapturing Justice and Passion in Environmental History: A Future Path

Jane Carruthers traces the development of environmental history, showing how it emerged in the 1970s from the environmental movement with a focus on addressing urgent issues such as resource depletion, climate change, and sustainability, while aiming to bridge the sciences and humanities. She notes that by the 1990s the field faced critiques of theoretical ambiguity, lack of coherence, and marginalization within mainstream historiography. In response, Carruthers highlights calls to reinvigorate the discipline through stronger ideological engagement and a focus on justice, drawing in part on the dynamism of African historiography. Ultimately, she argues that environmental history must remain politically and ethically engaged, using its activist roots to address contemporary global challenges.