The historian, the activist, the ecocritic, and the writer: an undisciplined debate on the Italian environmental history

Abstract

It is difficult to define what belongs exclusi­vely to Environmental History (EH), and even more what belongs to Italian Environmental History (IEH). This discipline often includes research concerned with different chronologi­cal periods, issues, approaches, and methods. This plurality of perspectives reflects the varied and often contrasting labels attached to those studies. This plurality of paths and experiences should not be considered a problem, but an opportunity to overcome the limitations of the current hyperspecialized structuring of research. For this reason, we have chosen to refer to the multidisciplinary area of the environmental humanities as the common ground. On the other hand, we have chosen a new way to present IEH to an international public: the interview and, especially in the last part, the multidisciplinary and hybrid dialogue.