A Historian's Handbook for Saving the World

A historian’s guide to the climate crisis: how research, teaching, and public engagement can help reshape the future of our environment.

The work of historians is vital to this moment. As climate debates shift from “believing the science” to fighting for the massive changes needed to address cataclysmic environmental damage, historical work is a critical resource for tracing and challenging the deeply rooted structures of power that continue to drive climate change and for charting fair and livable futures. In A Historian's Handbook for Saving the World, Alexandra Hui and Emily Pawley assemble provocative thought-pieces and concrete resources to help historians mobilize and expand their skills, networks, public platforms, and research to respond to the unfolding polycrisis.

Organized into six sections, the book illuminates different possibilities for action. Three sections focus on research, exploring how historians have directly addressed the emergence of climate science and how historical work can help us imagine and shape the different futures that lie before us. The remaining sections move beyond the world of academic research, offering guidance on integrating climate stories into teaching, reshaping institutions, and communicating and collaborating with communities.