Turning Over a New Leaf: The Evolution of Environmental History in Türkiye

Turning Over a New Leaf: The Evolution of Environmental History in Türkiye

While there are studies examining the current state of environmental history writing in Türkiye, there is a notable lack of historical investigation into how this field emerged and evolved over time. This talk addresses this gap by exploring the development of environmental history writing in Türkiye and examining the key events, institutions, and individuals that have influenced its trajectory. The talk emphasizes the pivotal role of the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul in 1996, in initiating environmental history in Türkiye and acknowledges the contributions of prominent figures like İlhan Tekeli. Ultimately, this study provides a framework for understanding the development and transformation of environmental history writing in Türkiye, from a fringe to a mainstream field that rivals older modes of historical inquiry in both quantity and sophistication.

Faisal Husain is an associate professor of history at Penn State University. His first book, Rivers of the Sultan, examined the role of the Tigris and Euphrates in the establishment of Ottoman state institutions in the Ottoman eastern borderland between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This year, he is teaching environmental history at Boğaziçi University as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.