Module Identifier |
GG28110 |
Module Title |
NATURE, CULTURE AND LANDSCAPE: GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVES |
Academic Year |
2002/2003 |
Co-ordinator |
Dr Bill Edwards |
Semester |
Semester 2 |
Pre-Requisite |
GG10110 , DA10110 , GG10210 , DA10210 , GG10310 |
Course delivery |
Lecture | 20 Hours 10 x 2 hrs |
Assessment |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours Unseen examination - Answer two questions | 100% |
|
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours same format | 100% |
Learning outcomes
This module allows students to acquire an informed and critical understanding of the way in which socio-cultural attitudes have changed towards nature, conservation and landscape policy in a national and international context. It seeks to develop an informed understanding of the way such attitudes have been translated into landscape policy and the consequences of such strategies for residents. The module highlights the interconnection between nature and society - a central theme in geographical enquiry.
On completion of this module students should be able to:-
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describe and evaluate the cultural and socio-political forces shaping attitudes to nature, environment and landscape
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exemplify the way in which environmental and landscape values are manifest in designations of conserved and protected landscapes and show a critical understanding of how and why landscape policy has changed over time
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discuss and evaluate the data sources and methodologies employed by planners and the strategies adopted to designate and manage conserved and protected landscapes
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show in their written examination evidence of the development of transferable skills through the depth of their reading and use of other sources, their interpretation, evaluation and critical synthesis of a range of material and the marshalling of an argument in written form.
Aims
This module addresses changing socio-cultural constructions of nature, environment and landscape. It examines how these have shaped planning policy and practice in the designation of conserved and protected landscapes at global and national scales. In so doing it introduces students to the intellectual and pragmatic inter-connection between society and environment, which is a central theme in the geographical discipline.
Content
This module explores the way society has constructed a changing vision of the natural world, charts the emergence of environmental groups, conservation agencies and institutions, and examines the consequences of their activities for environmental and landscape policy. Lectures cover the following themes:
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON NATURE, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDSCAPE
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Nature, culture and landscape: establishing a context
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Changing attitudes to the natural world
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The rise of the conservation and environmental agenda
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The designation and regulation of environmental and landscape policy
CONSERVING AND COMMODIFYING LANDSCAPE
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Nature, culture, landscape change and protection
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Designating 'valued' landscapes - the national park movement
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Landscape designation, evaluation and preference methodologies
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Conservation and development objectives in protected landscape management (IUCN)
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The representation and construction of heritage landscapes
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Regional distinctiveness and vernacular landscapes
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The conserved and commodified landscape in city and countryside.
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Daniels, S.. (1993)
Fields of vision: landscape imagery and national identity in England and the United States. Polity Press, Cambridge
Dickens, P.. (1992)
Society and Nature: towards a green social theory. Harvester
Meinig, D.W.. (1979)
The interpretation of ordinary landscapes. Oxford U.P.
Pepper, D.. (1996)
Modern environmentalism: an introduction. Routledge
Redcliffe, M. & Benton, T.. (1994)
Social theory and the global environment. Routledge
Selman, P.. (1996)
Local Sustainability: managing and planning ecologically sound places. Paul Chapman
Short, J.R.. (1991)
Imagined country. Routledge
Simmons, I.G.. (1993)
Interpreting Nature: cultural constructions of the environment. Routledge
Thomas, K.. (1984)
Man and the natural world: changing attitudes in England 1500-1800. Penguin
Williams, R.. (1975)
The country and the city. Paladin
Macnaghten, P. & Urry, J.. (1998)
Contested Natures. Sage
Bunce, M.. (1994)
The countryside ideal: anglo-american images of landscape. Routledge