Past and Present: Reflections on Working in a Department of Environment and Sustainability

A growing number of environmental historians have ties to departments or institutes that focus on contemporary issues, yet scholars in the field rarely discuss careers that aren’t centered in history. How does having an affiliation with an issue-oriented department or institute change what we do? What preparation is needed to thrive in interdisciplinary communities? What are the upsides and downsides of having an academic home in environmental or sustainability studies? This essay is a reflection on those questions by a scholar who moved from a history department to a department of environment and sustainability. In addition to offering insight into a career path that is likely to become more common, this essay considers different ways that environmental historians might use their expertise to address contemporary problems. How do we see the relationship of past and present in our work?.