The Centre for Environmental Arts and Humanities (CEAH) creates opportunities for shared investigation of the complex relationship between the environment and the human imagination.

The Centre (which is based at the University of Exeter’s campus in Penryn, Cornwall) nurtures existing research and provides support for collaborations within and beyond the arts and humanities. Our work contributes to contemporary thinking about environment and sustainability by historicising and contextualising the terms of environmental debate and ecological citizenship. This work is crucial in an era defined by pressing environmental problems, where an awareness of experiences and perspectives in the historical past has the potential to shape present understanding and influence political discourse.

The work of the Centre promotes research and discussion concerning historical and cultural narratives of ‘nature’ and natural resources, with particular attention to the way forms of artistic and cultural representation – including literary texts, maps, images, crafts and film – generate and perpetuate popular ideas and beliefs about nature and the environment.

We aim to build collaborative partnerships with external organisations and to share our research widely with academics, practitioners and interested publics.