This paper explores what implications landscape studies have on modern environmental discourse and practice. Especially, to elucidate historical and conceptual relations between landscape theories and modern environmentalism, the focus is on the evolu...
This paper explores what implications landscape studies have on modern environmental discourse and practice. Especially, to elucidate historical and conceptual relations between landscape theories and modern environmentalism, the focus is on the evolution and transformation of romantic landscape concept since 19th century. Main stream environmentalism in modern society is subject to 'nature-culture' dualism assuming that nature exists outside human culture, which is originated from romantic landscape tradition. The romantic environmentalism can be challenged by the landscape concepts as geological layers of human culture accumulated historically. Landscape studies in cultural geography can make it possible to render the vestiges of culture inscribed in natural landscape as a celebrating link for interactive understanding of human-environment relationship, by considering the active role of human inhabitants in intervening in and transforming nature.