Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Negotiating Knowledges in Heathland Management

Aagenæs, Siri LU and Clausen, Henriette Gottenborg LU (2025) HEKM51 20251
Human Geography
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
This thesis examines contemporary heathland management in Western Jutland, Denmark, focusing on how diverse forms of knowledge – embodied, institutional, and scientific – shape management and conservation practices. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with shepherds and interviews with municipal staff, and Nature Agency officials, the study analyzes the negotiations that underpin the governance of these semi-natural landscapes. Drawing on landscape phenomenology and sensory ethnography, the thesis uses the concept of ‘landscape’ – understood as a relational configuration of human and non-human life – to foreground the politics of perception and knowledge. Informed by theoretical frameworks from anthropology and human ecology, and engaging with... (More)
This thesis examines contemporary heathland management in Western Jutland, Denmark, focusing on how diverse forms of knowledge – embodied, institutional, and scientific – shape management and conservation practices. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with shepherds and interviews with municipal staff, and Nature Agency officials, the study analyzes the negotiations that underpin the governance of these semi-natural landscapes. Drawing on landscape phenomenology and sensory ethnography, the thesis uses the concept of ‘landscape’ – understood as a relational configuration of human and non-human life – to foreground the politics of perception and knowledge. Informed by theoretical frameworks from anthropology and human ecology, and engaging with scholars such as Anna Tsing, Nils Bubandt, Andrew Mathews, Sarah Pink, Kenneth Olwig, and Karen Barad, the thesis applies concepts including shifting baseline syndrome, patchy Anthropocene, landscape perception, and non-knowledge to examine how different forms of heathland knowledges are negotiated, enacted and materializes in the landscape. Central to the analysis, we find that the management of heathlands is not only a practical or bureaucratic process but a site of political contestation, shaped by how these landscapes are perceived – either through tools, institutions, or lived experiences. Ultimately, it advocates for more inclusive management grounded in epistemic plurality and ‘landscape literacy’, contributing to debates in human ecology and environmental governance. The study offers new insights into how contested landscapes are shaped and governed amid the uncertainties of landscape transformation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Aagenæs, Siri LU and Clausen, Henriette Gottenborg LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Heathlands, Environmental Governance, Patchy Anthropocene, Non-knowledges, Landscape Perception, Shifting Baselines
language
English
id
9188504
date added to LUP
2025-07-31 11:18:00
date last changed
2025-07-31 11:18:00
@misc{9188504,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines contemporary heathland management in Western Jutland, Denmark, focusing on how diverse forms of knowledge – embodied, institutional, and scientific – shape management and conservation practices. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with shepherds and interviews with municipal staff, and Nature Agency officials, the study analyzes the negotiations that underpin the governance of these semi-natural landscapes. Drawing on landscape phenomenology and sensory ethnography, the thesis uses the concept of ‘landscape’ – understood as a relational configuration of human and non-human life – to foreground the politics of perception and knowledge. Informed by theoretical frameworks from anthropology and human ecology, and engaging with scholars such as Anna Tsing, Nils Bubandt, Andrew Mathews, Sarah Pink, Kenneth Olwig, and Karen Barad, the thesis applies concepts including shifting baseline syndrome, patchy Anthropocene, landscape perception, and non-knowledge to examine how different forms of heathland knowledges are negotiated, enacted and materializes in the landscape. Central to the analysis, we find that the management of heathlands is not only a practical or bureaucratic process but a site of political contestation, shaped by how these landscapes are perceived – either through tools, institutions, or lived experiences. Ultimately, it advocates for more inclusive management grounded in epistemic plurality and ‘landscape literacy’, contributing to debates in human ecology and environmental governance. The study offers new insights into how contested landscapes are shaped and governed amid the uncertainties of landscape transformation.}},
  author       = {{Aagenæs, Siri and Clausen, Henriette Gottenborg}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Negotiating Knowledges in Heathland Management}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}