Giving Voice to the Ground in Environmental Research: A Transdisciplinary Approach

Over the past two decades, environmental humanities and social sciences have emphasized the agency of non-humans and the need to move beyond anthropocentric research frameworks. While this shift has gained wide acceptance conceptually, concrete methodologies to integrate human and non-human voices in empirical research remain scarce. Existing studies on permafrost thaw underline the vulnerability of infrastructures and communities in the circumpolar North, but often treat soils, ice, or infrastructures as background variables rather than active agents. Our project asks: How can « ground » non-humans (e.g., permafrost, soils, infrastructures) be integrated as full actors in environmental research? More specifically: What methodologies allow us to capture the temporalities and agency of these non-humans alongside human narratives? How can this approach reframe socio-ecological transformations in Arctic and Subarctic contexts, particularly along the Alaska Highway (Yukon, Canada)? We propose a crossed methodology combining: (1) Anthropology and Ethnography: interviews and observations with local residents, First Nations, and highway workers, to capture lived experiences of environmental change. (2) History and Archives study: construction reports, maps, photographs (1940s–present), and Indigenous lexicons to situate transformations in historical depth. (3) Geosciences and Geology: monitoring data of permafrost, soil analyses, and geomorphological surveys, interpreted as “spokespersons” of non-humans. This triangulation enables the production of multi-temporal narratives in which human and non-human actors are co-authors of history.