Approaches to Landscape - Richard Muir

Approaches to Landscape introduces and explores the main perspectives in this increasingly popular field of study. The book ranges widely across disciplines, tracing the evolution of ideas about landscape and the contributions of, among others, landscape historians, landscape archaeologists, human geographers, psychologists, art historians, and political scientists. The author pays particular attention to the divergence of approaches between those who apply technical expertise to investigating the development of human-made landscapes and those who are concerned with landscape in its subjective role. Individual chapters focus on the development of landscape history and landscape archaeology, including the contribution of such leading practitioners as Carl Sauer and W. G. Hoskins; the role of perception in landscape studies; power and symbolism; the physical roots of scenery; landscape evaluation; landscape aesthetics; and landscape and place. Written in an accessible style and illustrated throughout with relevant photographs, maps and diagrams, Approaches to Landscape will be of great appeal to scholars and students of landscape, geography, archaeology, and local history, and also to anyone interested in the interaction between human beings and the landscape.