SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Human-nature relationship is one of the oldest philosophical topics in history, but environmental history, the study of human-nature relationship and how it evolved from a historical perspective, is very new. As an academic discipline, it emerged during the surge of environmental concerns in North America during the 1970s and developed into a rigorous intellectual field in just several decades. Despite being well-studied in Europe and America, environmental history is a new sector in China and did not receive as much attention.
Environmental history is interdisciplinary by its nature, “as interdisciplinary as intellectual pursuits can get” and thus adding an environmental perspective to studies of other fields very intriguing.

Studies of WWII is very well developed in China, to an extent “you name it, someone had studied it”, even on some very fine historical details, but few researchers have been done from an environmental perspective.

This essay intends to explore the possibilities to attach a narrative about the environment into the rich intellectual heritage of WWII and find out how environmental history might help in the making of environmental policies.