Introduction: Framing environmental history today and for the future

This introductory chapter frames and explains the suite of essays in the Handbook of Environmental History. The Handbook seeks to provide novel and important contributions to environmental history while stimulating and inspiring new types of scholarship in the history of human-environment dynamics. It is purposefully organised thematically – rather than geographically or regionally – in order to bring the histories of different regions into conversation with each other and, more importantly, to underscore new approaches and trends in the field rather than specific places and time periods. That said, the work in this Handbook is strongly grounded in time and space, with many of the chapters highlighting specific issues or places. The goal is thus to broaden the directions and make them accessible to scholars working in all subfields, places, and time periods while providing concrete examples. To be more wide-ranging and globally accessible in terms of topics and approaches, this Handbook is also global in nature. It features 28 chapters by approximately 72 authors from 27 countries.