Regenerative histories for troubled times

We are living in a time of polycrisis. Inequality continues to rise, as does political polarisation; armed conflict and violence are escalating; and the boundaries of critical systems that keep Earth safe for human habitation have been exceeded or are threatened. In such troubled times, there are important roles not only for militant histories that do the work of radical remembering and insist on justice, but also for intimate histories that engage local capacity for repair and renewal. This oration proposes a threefold framework of possibilities for regenerative histories: firstly in content (histories of regeneration); secondly, in orientation (histories for regeneration); and thirdly, in mode or method (history as a regenerative practice that cultivates connection while rekindling values of truth and stewardship). I situate this work within the broader context of the environmental humanities and explore its possibilities through a regenerative history from southern Western Australia.