Sustainable Academia: The Responsibilities of Academic Historians in a Climate-Impacted World

Carla Pascoe Leahy, Andrea Gaynor, Simon Sleight, Ruth Morgan, Yves Rees

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
204 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Environmental degradation is the most serious challenge of the twenty-first century. To date, academic historians, among many others, have failed to fully confront the climate and biodiversity crises, often engaging in disavowal of the problems and our contribution to them in the course of our historical work. This article discusses mitigation efforts underway among other professional bodies, higher education institutions and academic disciplines, before addressing how we might embrace sustainability more meaningfully through our practices. We explain why a focus on decarbonisation is important, canvas the multiple benefits of reducing travel and consider what individuals and institutions can do to better respond to a crisis that is already with us. Our particular case study is Australia, though the implications of our findings – such as the effects of global heating and environmental destruction – are global.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)545-570
Number of pages26
JournalEnvironment And History
Volume28
Issue number4
Early online date12 Aug 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2022

Keywords

  • carbon footprint
  • historical practice
  • research
  • Sustainability
  • teaching
  • travel

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