Abstract
In recent decades, environmental history has emerged as an interdisciplinary branch within the humanities, aiming to move beyond classical, anthropocentric historiography by recognizing nature as an active agent in historical processes. In Iran, despite the growing significance of environmental issues, environmental history has yet to secure an independent position in higher education, and the lack of coherent academic resources remains a major limitation. This article, employing an analytical-critical approach, examines Hughes’ ideas and demonstrates that his three-tiered framework—including (1) the active role of nature in history, (2) the impact of human actions on the environment, and (3) the history of environmental thought—offers significant potential for developing university textbooks in Iran. The findings indicate that Hughes’ emphasis on interdisciplinary methodology, the integration of natural science data with historical sources, attention to long-term and global scales, alongside consideration of local knowledge, can serve as an effective model for adapting environmental history to the Iranian context. The results suggest that applying Hughes’ framework in academic texts could address existing educational gaps in Iran’s environmental history, facilitate historical analysis of contemporary environmental crises (e.g., water scarcity, soil erosion, desertification), strengthen the linkage between humanities and natural sciences in higher education, and cultivate researchers capable of approaching environmental policymaking from a historical and interdisciplinary perspective. Therefore, the development of academic resources in environmental history in Iran is not only an educational necessity but also a scientific and cultural imperative, which can be theoretically and practically informed by Hughes’ insights.