Introduction

Atraje cto ry in physics is m ost broadly defined as "the path described by an object under the influence of a force."The concept is a com pelling one for addressing developments and crossings in the fast-developing environmental humanities.The concept of a "tra je cto ry" addresses not only the m ultiply-scaled influences and changes affectin g the earth and its human and non-human beings, but also alludes to the conceptual and cultural forces, objects and paths by means of w hich many humanists are choosing to describe, address, represent, and negotiate such changes.1 Trajectories can cross; they can diverge; they can also maintain their own distinctive paths.In this volume of ELN, we explore w h at older as well as newer trajectories are emergent at this exciting m om ent in the developm ent of the environm ental hum anities.W hat objects of inquiry are being addressed; by w hat newer or older conceptual/cultural forces and desires are they being pushed -or pulled?Do their paths diverge or cross?W hat debates are they initiating?W hat paths are they describing?A t this moment of crisis -both of environm ental crisis and a crisis for the hum anities-w hat resources can the environm ental hum anities offer for imagining a future?A range of contributors across fields and geographies responded to our broad call for short position papers discussing, or in many cases instantiating modes, debates, and reco nfig urations they see developing in the field.The trajectories represented in this collection surprised us by the striking variety of their in te rests-showing how, far from consolidating around one or tw o concepts or approaches, the field is alive w ith m ultiple objects, aims and narratives.Clearly, the environm ental hum anities are and should remain an open-ended inquiry in which no trajectory should be obscured or prematurely discarded.The inquiries presented here suggest that ju st as our problems are complex, so should our responses as humanists be m ultiple.The papers fall into tw o broader frames even as, in keeping w ith the concept of traje cto ry, these tw o frames are themselves related as much by the ir entanglem ents as by th e ir sep arations.We name them: A lternatives W ithin and A lternatives To.Essays in "A lternatives W ith in " seek to recover and renew varieties o f non-dualist trajectories th a t have been neglected or dismissed w ith in W estern thinking

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Sociology · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History · Philosophy

• Teaching the Environmental Humanities

  Open Access•Emily O’gorman, T Van Dooren et al.•Environmental Humanities•2019

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