South-West Environmental Humanities Laboratory

Tackling environmental issues from a humanities perspective

Environmental problems by and large arise out of human action. This means that addressing them calls for not only scientific knowledge, but an understanding of human subjectivities, particularly as they relate to nature.

Our lab works on significant contemporary environmental problems concerning south-western Australia. Work currently in progress explores urban water and wetlands, Wheatbelt sustainability, and the Great Western Woodlands.

The South-West Environmental Humanities Laboratory is an innovative initiative bringing together methods from the sciences and the humanities. Our work is project-based and experimental and uses interdisciplinary teams to solve problems and investigate complex situations, including a project on water and the history of Australian Urbanisation funded by the Australian Research Council.

 

From the sciences we seek to draw on knowledge from:

  • plant and animal biology
  • climate and soil science
  • agriculture
  • oceanography

From humanities we draw on the disciplines of:

  • history
  • literary studies
  • philosophy
  • Indigenous studies
  • human geography
  • anthropology

Goals

Bringing together data and stories relating to contemporary environmental issues

Delivering ready-to-use, high-impact visual and narrative resources held in the intellectual commons

Get involved

We welcome collaborations from community groups, research entities, and the private and public sector. Contact us on the details below.

Contact key staff in this area