究天人之际  格文理之道

融中西之萃  通古今之变

中国人民大学历史学科长期关注人与自然相互关系的研究，尤其是1980年代中期以来，在李文海教授的带领下，于国内率先开展中国近代灾荒史研究，迄今不辍。近年又着重从海内外引进生态史（环境史）研究新秀，培育生态史人才，在世界生态史研究方面也有一定的进展，并与海外多处生态史研究重镇以及诸多生态史学者建立了密切的联系。

2012年5月，中国人民大学历史学院决定以清史研究所和历史系现有灾害史、生态史研究队伍为基础，同时邀请国学院、马克思主义学院等相关研究人员加盟，建立一个整合院内外、校内外和国内外相关学术力量的多学科、跨学科建设平台——生态史研究中心，力争在未来五至十年的时间内，将其建设成国内外知名的，集科学研究、人才培养、学术交流、资料积累与生态文化传播等多样化功能于一体的生态史研究重镇，以此加强人民大学历史学院中国史、世界史与考古学的学科建设，加强历史学与生态学、环境科学、地理学、人口学、社会学、经济学、法学、公共医疗卫生等相关领域的合作、对话与交流，提升人大史学的国际影响力与声誉，推动中国生态史研究的进一步发展，建设有中国特色的生态史学。

Explore the Dialogue Between Nature and Humans

Investigate the Truths of Humanities and Sciences

Harmonize the Meeting of West and East

Understand Change in Past and Present

Applying the theories and methods of ecology, ecological history (also called environmental history) aims to examine the changing relations between humans and nature. It explores the mutual impact of nature on human history and human beings on nature, and investigates the evolution of human civilization in a comprehensive way.

The history program of Renmin University of China has paid attention to the significance of the interaction between humans and nature for a long time. In the mid-1980s, under the direction of Prof. Li Wenhai, it undertook path-breaking research on the history of disasters and famines of early modern and modern China. Since then, it has become a world-famous center of environmental history research with close connections to centers of environmental humanities and ecological historians all over the world. In recent years, the school of history has recruited foreign and domestically trained ecological historians, and works to define a graduate program in the field. It has further achieved progress in digitizing documents of world ecological history.

As a sign for its solid institutionalization, RUC established a new Center for Ecological History (CEH) at the school of history in May, 2012. Its research fellows are mainly history faculty with interest in ecological history, history of disasters, historical geography, environmental archaeology and related fields, but also affiliates from around the campus. The CEH is also affiliated with scholars from the School of Traditional Chinese Culture at RUC, the School of Marxism, and other domestic and foreign institutes. In the next five to ten years, it will endeavor to build an international ecological history center to promote research, education, academic communication, and archive compilation in ecological history, and to help reinforce the dissemination of ecological culture to the public. The center aims to become a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary platform in order to improve programs in Chinese history, world history, and archaeology at RUC, to strengthen the cooperation and dialogue between historians and scholars of ecology, environmental studies, geography, demographic studies, sociology, economics, law and public health, to enhance the international reputation of RUC, to advance research on Chinese ecological history and to help push forward the development of the field of ecological history.