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Inget landskap är en ö : dialektik och praktik i öländska landskap

Saltzman, Katarina LU (2001)
Abstract
The complex character of rural landscapes implies a constant interaction between mind and matter as well as between nature and society. In landscapes, the established division of reality into nature and culture appears all but natural. This book points to the possibilities of regarding landscape as a dialectical process. Landscape is here used as an analytical device to examine nature-culture relations, in order to understand the ways in which this dichotomy works in contemporary society. This sheds light on the contradictory qualities of rural landscapes - in many respects culturally constructed, and yet at the same time often conceived of as nature.



The book is based on examples from the island of Öland. Agriculture,... (More)
The complex character of rural landscapes implies a constant interaction between mind and matter as well as between nature and society. In landscapes, the established division of reality into nature and culture appears all but natural. This book points to the possibilities of regarding landscape as a dialectical process. Landscape is here used as an analytical device to examine nature-culture relations, in order to understand the ways in which this dichotomy works in contemporary society. This sheds light on the contradictory qualities of rural landscapes - in many respects culturally constructed, and yet at the same time often conceived of as nature.



The book is based on examples from the island of Öland. Agriculture, grazing cattle and other kinds of usage have formed this rural landscape through history, and still do so. Today's visitors have various motives for regarding the landscapes of Öland as interesting and valuable. Contemporary landscapes are often used and experienced in many different ways, which sometimes leads to conflicts between divergent ways of appreciating the same piece of land. If landscapes are characterised by their processual and dialectical qualities, indeed if landscape is process rather than prospect or property, it might seem somewhat problematic to conserve such ever-changing landscapes. The inscription of Södra Ölands Odlingslandskap (The Cultural Landscape of Southern Öland) on Unesco's World Heritage List is here analysed as one example of an emergent re-thinking of conservation strategies in agricultural landscapes.



The increasing interest in rural landscapes expressed by authorities, scientists and tourists alike, has in many cases been characterised by a nostalgic looking back towards presumed idylls in rural communities of past times. The author of this book argues for a more future-oriented interest in landscapes, and states that reflections about sustainable relations between nature and society should benefit from an awareness of the dialectical qualities of landscapes. No landscape is an island, entire of itself, neither in space nor in time. Landscapes must be regarded as an integral part of society, rather than as a static background for social life. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I en tid då allt färre lever på landsbygden har jordbrukslandskapet blivit föremål för ett växande intresse. Landsbygdens landskap har i vår tid kommit att framstå som idylliskt, äkta och naturligt, men också som i hög grad hotat. Den här avhandlingen analyserar ur ett etnologiskt perspektiv vad landskap är och hur landskap skapas. Den behandlar bland annat människors olika sätt att förhålla sig till samma landskap, konflikter mellan olika sätt att bruka ett landskap, och det motsägelsefulla intresset för att bevara det föränderliga.



Avhandlingen bygger på aktuella exempel från Öland - ett av de områden i Sverige som ofta uppmärksammas för landskapets stora natur- och... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I en tid då allt färre lever på landsbygden har jordbrukslandskapet blivit föremål för ett växande intresse. Landsbygdens landskap har i vår tid kommit att framstå som idylliskt, äkta och naturligt, men också som i hög grad hotat. Den här avhandlingen analyserar ur ett etnologiskt perspektiv vad landskap är och hur landskap skapas. Den behandlar bland annat människors olika sätt att förhålla sig till samma landskap, konflikter mellan olika sätt att bruka ett landskap, och det motsägelsefulla intresset för att bevara det föränderliga.



Avhandlingen bygger på aktuella exempel från Öland - ett av de områden i Sverige som ofta uppmärksammas för landskapets stora natur- och kulturvärden. Här diskuteras bland annat det faktum att Södra Ölands odlingslandskap tagit plats på Unesco:s världsarvslista. I avhandlingen får skildringar av olika öländska miljöer tjäna som utgångspunkt för en mer allmän diskussion om hur landskapsstudier kan bidra till förståelsen av förhållandet mellan natur och kultur i vårt samhälle.



Författaren pekar på vikten av att förstå samspelet mellan landskapets sociala, historiska och biologiska processer. Med ett sådant perspektiv framstår landskapet inte som en statisk bakgrundskuliss, utan som en integrerad och ständigt föränderlig del av det sociala livet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Sörlin, Sverker, Stockholm
organization
alternative title
No Landscape is an Island. Dialectics and practice in landscapes of Öland.
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Cultural anthropology, utopianism, world heritage, land-use conflicts, tourism, agriculture, sustainability, countryside, values, nature/culture, processuality, Landscape, dialectics, ethnology, Kulturantropologi, etnologi, History of agriculture, Agrarhistoria
pages
282 pages
publisher
Nordic Academic Press
defense location
Edens Hörsal
defense date
2001-09-14 10:15:00
external identifiers
  • other:ISRN: LUHFDA/HFET-- 01/1041--SE
ISBN
91-89116-26-7
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
c71a9935-73cc-4b1c-8172-036a2c8cb8d0 (old id 19975)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:33:22
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:59:25
@phdthesis{c71a9935-73cc-4b1c-8172-036a2c8cb8d0,
  abstract     = {{The complex character of rural landscapes implies a constant interaction between mind and matter as well as between nature and society. In landscapes, the established division of reality into nature and culture appears all but natural. This book points to the possibilities of regarding landscape as a dialectical process. Landscape is here used as an analytical device to examine nature-culture relations, in order to understand the ways in which this dichotomy works in contemporary society. This sheds light on the contradictory qualities of rural landscapes - in many respects culturally constructed, and yet at the same time often conceived of as nature.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The book is based on examples from the island of Öland. Agriculture, grazing cattle and other kinds of usage have formed this rural landscape through history, and still do so. Today's visitors have various motives for regarding the landscapes of Öland as interesting and valuable. Contemporary landscapes are often used and experienced in many different ways, which sometimes leads to conflicts between divergent ways of appreciating the same piece of land. If landscapes are characterised by their processual and dialectical qualities, indeed if landscape is process rather than prospect or property, it might seem somewhat problematic to conserve such ever-changing landscapes. The inscription of Södra Ölands Odlingslandskap (The Cultural Landscape of Southern Öland) on Unesco's World Heritage List is here analysed as one example of an emergent re-thinking of conservation strategies in agricultural landscapes.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The increasing interest in rural landscapes expressed by authorities, scientists and tourists alike, has in many cases been characterised by a nostalgic looking back towards presumed idylls in rural communities of past times. The author of this book argues for a more future-oriented interest in landscapes, and states that reflections about sustainable relations between nature and society should benefit from an awareness of the dialectical qualities of landscapes. No landscape is an island, entire of itself, neither in space nor in time. Landscapes must be regarded as an integral part of society, rather than as a static background for social life.}},
  author       = {{Saltzman, Katarina}},
  isbn         = {{91-89116-26-7}},
  keywords     = {{Cultural anthropology; utopianism; world heritage; land-use conflicts; tourism; agriculture; sustainability; countryside; values; nature/culture; processuality; Landscape; dialectics; ethnology; Kulturantropologi; etnologi; History of agriculture; Agrarhistoria}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Nordic Academic Press}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Inget landskap är en ö : dialektik och praktik i öländska landskap}},
  year         = {{2001}},
}