Situating environmental humanities in the New Himalayas

Abstract

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights the ontological and affective relations of herders, yaks, deities and the physical environment of Bhutan’s highlands. It presents a complex case of human–earth relations with an ethnographic focus on the Three Brothers Mountains in Haa District, Bhutan. The book provides anthropogenic aqueous earth in the form of shifting river islands in Assam. It addresses human–earth relations in the arenas of cultivated landscapes, animated landforms and the environmental consequences of modern economic development and climate change with an emphasis on the agencies of humans, spiritual entities and the earth itself manifest in diverse forms and expressions. The book also presents a new arena of environmental humanities in the field of international relations. It argues that international relations and environmental humanities in dialogue is generative of interdisciplinary implications and of policy meanings for a sustainable future of the Himalayas.