Environmental history has been a transdisciplinary endeavour from its beginnings. The field developed in interdisciplinary conversations bringing historians into dialogue with scholars from other disciplines in humanities and social sciences, as well as natural sciences, especially ecologists, geographers and geologists. At the same time, environmental history has emerged in tandem with environmental movements and continues to place high value on science communication and public engagement.
These strong transdisciplinary traditions make environmental history a unique field of research, involving actors from diverse backgrounds from within and beyond academia. The complexity of environmental history as a transdisciplinary field is, however, also a challenge. Particularly in times when academic debates face populist attacks and budget strains disadvantage interdisciplinary endeavours as funding is ring-fenced in disciplinary silos, it is important to reinvigorate research practices that transcend such boundaries.
The city and province of Salzburg, located centrally in Europe, are hotspots for environmental history. Thousands of years of tradition as a mining region for salt and metal, Alpine transit since at least Roman times, focus of monastic elites, centers for industrialization and the rise as a tourist region, that developed hand in hand with a striking mountain infrastructure, complex migration processes and grand hydropower projects in the 20th century - all of this acted as drivers of far-reaching transformation processes in society and the environment. In this regional setting, the University of Salzburg, with its six faculties and around 18,000 students, not only stands out as a location where environmental history has been institutionalized for decades, but also where transdisciplinary environmental research can look back on a longstanding tradition and outstanding successes recently.
The city and province of Salzburg, located centrally in Europe, are hotspots for environmental history. Thousands of years of tradition as a mining region for salt and metal, Alpine transit since at least Roman times, focus of monastic elites, centers for industrialization and the rise as a tourist region, that developed hand in hand with a striking mountain infrastructure, complex migration processes and grand hydropower projects in the 20th century - all of this acted as drivers of far-reaching transformation processes in society and the environment. In this regional setting, the University of Salzburg, with its six faculties and around 18,000 students, not only stands out as a location where environmental history has been institutionalized for decades, but also where transdisciplinary environmental research can look back on a longstanding tradition and outstanding successes recently.
The city and province of Salzburg, located centrally in Europe, are hotspots for environmental history. Thousands of years of tradition as a mining region for salt and metal, Alpine transit since at least Roman times, focus of monastic elites, centers for industrialization and the rise as a tourist region, that developed hand in hand with a striking mountain infrastructure, complex migration processes and grand hydropower projects in the 20th century - all of this acted as drivers of far-reaching transformation processes in society and the environment. In this regional setting, the University of Salzburg, with its six faculties and around 18,000 students, not only stands out as a location where environmental history has been institutionalized for decades, but also where transdisciplinary environmental research can look back on a longstanding tradition and outstanding successes recently.