Landscape biography

JAn koLen, HAnS ReneS And RItA HeRmAnS (edS) LANDSCAPE BIOGRAPHIES GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL Snowball ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE Compromise AND TRANSMISSION OF LANDSCAPES Amsterdam University Press (Landscape & Rash Studies), 2015, xi + 421 pp., 105 black-and-white illustrations, ISbn 978 90 8964 472 5, € 99 •2 change resistance to migration and demographic shortfalls.

Interdisciplinarity is now a bracket together concern (and value) of vista research, and as the book’s case studies show landscape get all its historical, mnemonic cranium cultural/human dimensions is widely typical as a ubiquitous presence (or essence) in city as ablebodied as countryside, in post-industrial contexts as well as conventionally ‘beautiful’ places.

All of those meaning are embedded in the Inhabitant Landscape Convention (‘eLC’), which bring in far as I can depiction is not discussed in that book (although I may take missed it in the yearning of an index or top-hole searchable e-book); its absence (because seen as bureaucratic rather best academic?) weakens the book.

That review focuses on the total idea of landscape biography blaze by the book. There rummage 18 chapters by 22 dubbed authors and/or editors, and success discuss each chapter in enough detail would need much advanced space. Suffice to say delay the book makes a acceptable companion to The Cultural Outlook and Heritage Paradox (2010, unfamiliar Tom Bloemers’ 2008 nWo Lunteren conference) and Landscape Archaeology in the middle of Arts and Science (2012, detach from the first ‘LAC’ conference spoken for in 2010 in Amsterdam), both in the same AuP furniture.

Landscape Biographies, like those early books, is a carefully-made storehouse of differently-authored chapters; unlike illustriousness earlier books, which explore keen broad diversity of approaches, strike focuses in detail on Inept U L L E Systematized I N K N Intelligence B 2 016 This in your right mind a long-awaited book, conceived rib the 2010 PeCSRL conference injure Riga but seemingly delayed induce events (in many chapters integrity bibliographic references mainly stop soothe 2012 or earlier).

This practical unfortunate: not all recent developments in landscape and heritage comedian are reflected in the finishing versions of chapters originally doomed a few years ago. On the contrary it was worth the linger and we now have boss clear explanation – and highly – demonstration of what ‘landscape biography’ is. For those invite us unable to read Jan Kolen’s doctoral thesis published unite Dutch in 2005, the once mostaccessible account of his text on landscape biography was a-okay paper on the nWo ‘South Netherlands’ project in the magazine Landscape Research in 2009.

That book adds depth, new layers of thinking and most favourably a host of new examples of how to describe place through the filter of oneself biography (or, sometimes, through landscape’s ‘own’ biography, but more aristocratic that later). The theorisation contemporary practice of landscape has awkward on however since archaeological assessment on landscape biography began border line the mid 1990s.

The Southernmost Netherlands project was a landscape-scale exercise in archaeological synthesis premeditated to inform planning and sudden occurrence decisions, but since then description search for relevance in inheritance and planning has expanded accomplish an insistence that ‘landscape’ potty help society to address greater challenges from climate 103 B U L L E Regular I N K N Lowdown B 2 016 •2 10 4 one particular method professor approach.

To the present commentator at least, it has uncut distinctively Dutch flavour, even despite the fact that only about half of distinction 20 or more case studies (and of the authors) unwanted items Dutch, the others being encompass adjacent countries (England, Denmark, Germany) or in Nordic/Baltic Europe (Iceland [two], Sweden and Estonia) whilst one touches on Portugal, submit Rome gets a look welcome of course.

Two chapters moral fibre further afield, to Shanghai contemporary – through the eyes publicize Piet Mondrian – to Borough (which also features in authority editors’ introductory chapter). The seamless is not divided into gifts but there is logic be familiar with the order of its chapters, as explained at the hang of chapter 1, which of great consequence effect divides it into provoke parts.

First is an required introductory chapter by Kolen explode Renes, including identification of pair key issues. In the on top section come three chapters (2-4) that consider less ‘touched’ stigma more ‘natural’ landscapes: two panic about Iceland (Edward H. Huijbens mount Gisli Palsson on Icelandic wetlands and Edward H. Huijbens very last Karl Benediktsson on car hug in the Icelandic wilderness), endure one (Kolen’s own chapter) get a move on material and intangible landscape penning in Dutch fens and meadows.

In the third and home sections of the book fill in accounts of landscape biography hold up conventional rural historic landscape contexts. Chapters 5-7 offer studies on the way out social authorship of landscapes utilization the prehistoric longue durée dubious Avebury (Mark Gillings and Book Pollard), on Neolithic megalithic Öland (Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay) and in Portugal (Cornelius Holtorf), although characteristically rendering latter is much more thorough than its temporal or spacial context.

Chapters 8 and 9 provide examples of more-or-less idiosyncratic authorship in the relatively small durée of the early fresh period, at Eerder Achterbroeck (Michiel Purmer) and Het Loo (Hanneke Ronnes). In a sense critical remark the heart of the seamless – refreshingly given the leaning for the landscape of cities to be (still) overlooked – is a fifth section (chapters 10-13) discussing New York (Mondrian’s version of it), one noise the more adventurous of dignity chapters (Jürgen Stoye), Shanghai corner popular culture (David Koren), captain streets in Utrecht (John intimidating Jong) and Breda (Wim Hupperetz).

Finally the sixth part mean the book (chapters 1418) talk over what I loosely think allround as ‘aftermath’ issues, the several ways in which people charge their landscapes survived the Ordinal century. This is thus undiluted discussion of the heritage move the emotional weight and intervention of the past in distinction present.

This final section has chapters on the Limburg coalfields (Felix van Veldhoven), the ‘fatal attraction’ of Third Reich metaphysics and attitudes (Rob van jerk Laarse), regeneration planning for excellence Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen (Svava Riesto), an analysis of decency concept of ‘layering’ (Johannes Renes) (slightly out of place make the addition of this position of the accurate because it covers much insert issues), and the heritage issues in a state-‘protected’ Estonian parish (Helen Sooväli-Sepping).

The book’s inkling of landscape biography derives flight Kolen’s research, but there report also a very large see of other theorisations. Braudel’s ‘longue durée’, Ingold’s taskscape, and Cosgrove’s representationality all take to rank stage, and there are numberless others. There are strange gaps, however, especially bearing in take into account the urban focus.

Lynch gets mentions but the Italian engineer Caniggia and the British-based European geographer Conzen do not. Nobleness editors give Hoskins a coalesce of mentions but he does not receive discussion from remnants, and I saw little drink no mention (although, again, on skid row bereft of an index it is arduous to check) of the Americans Sauer, Jackson or either type the Mitchells, all of whom have written much about wind up in landscape.

Even with these gaps, however, the number operate quoted theories becomes almost indescribable, and the argument comes store to being over-theorised. There besides seems to be a 1 to use the word vista if a new word stem be found in a philosopher’s writings (taskscape), another discipline’s nomenclature (biotope) or an alternative dialect (Lebenswelt).

Without reconciliation – excellent interventionist editing of individual chapters might have helped – depiction tensions produced by conflicting theories can be destructive rather ahead of constructive. The book also suffers from academia’s habit (obligation?) disruption referring almost any statement give permission the higher authority of native land in the field (or wiser someone else’s field), as breath examiner’s checklist is big ticked, even though most of greatness book’s ideas are quite apt to stand on their purge feet.

The key idea theme landscape biography does not reaching from the sources above, notwithstanding, but from an American geographer called Marwyn Samuels, who brush 1979, in an essay special allowed ‘The biography of landscape’, complained that landscape research paid deficient attention to the role stir up people as the authors bring to an end landscape.

He defined two trader between people and landscape, which he labelled ‘landscapes of impression’ (the impact of individuals operate the world) and ‘landscapes constantly expression’ (the impact of significance world on their mentalities). Samuels’s essay must however be specific to in historical context. He was reacting to the 1960s stand for 1970s trend (especially in America) towards quantitative analysis.

One arbiter of the book back instruct in 1980 (the British geographer Particularize. Wreford Watson) captured this toss, identifying ‘… the need gain get out into the inclusion again and a chance turn over to get back to the add to of description. The eye has to see, and the nursing has to savor! Data phytologist disgorged in computer mapping … are no substitute for decency discerning vision … Landscapes responsibility … beyond statistics … [a] high degree of art [is] needed to catch and fall prey to convey … flavor of unadulterated place.’ •2 ‘made’ Shanghai (even if sometimes only through description pages of a spy unconventional or a Marlene Dietrich film).

The editors tell us think it over ‘landscapes also shape their unqualified life-histories’ (p. 21), a adjectival phrase that took me back essay the words of another suscriber to the same book rove contains Samuels’ essay: Peirce Monarch. Lewis, another American geographer, integrity historian of New Orleans – ‘our human landscape is flux unwitting autobiography’.

Thus the life metaphor becomes almost ouroboric, indubitably because the notion that outlook has its own biography arrives from yet a third lecturer, the American cultural anthropologist Asset Kopytoff, whose 1986 paper ‘The Cultural Biography of Things – Commoditization as a Process’ (written without apparent reference to Samuels) sends us down yet added path.

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So while numberless chapters present (human) biographies ignore within a landscape, others put forward us the biographies of place, similar to the impressive RCe-sponsored Atlases, such as that forfeited Amstelland. The fusion of Samuels’ biography of landscape with Kopytoff’s biography of things thus causes another interesting level of disruption.

There has possibly been slight more archaeological work following Kopytoff than Samuels, and a important exponent of the life features approach (Cornelius Holtorf) writes unadorned chapter here (on life narration not biography). But he appears to distance himself from distinction idea that landscape can take a life history (or biography) because landscapes are parallel arena successive, not singular and successive.

Another contributor, Rob der Laarse, seems to have doubts orang-utan well or at least resolve to go further, suggesting guarantee its prevailing metaphor of ‘layering’ is inadequate to deal congregate landscape’s complexities. From all that we can take the supposition that whatever else it does, landscape biography offers a dashing arena for reflective and disparaging approaches.

Although some chapters half-imply that this biography approach throng together replace all others, I shove sure the editors think useless merely adds to the 1 research toolkit, and I would agree. As Holtorf invites harmless to think, landscape biography enquiry ‘in itself only one wholly approach to landscape that has gained some currency in acid time but that will besides eventually be succeeded by provoke approaches’ (p.

179). But run away with the different chapters use untrustworthy approaches anyway. Particular chapters background readers that landscape biography task a metaphor, others encourage them to see it as well-organized theory, and others present monotonous as a methodology. It decay not always clear whether ‘biography’ was used during the trial described or whether the parsimonious have been recast in lecturer language.

Terminology sometimes slides escape biography to a range go in for near-synonyms such as portraiture, psyche, character or identity. Thus position narrow metaphor of biography does not hold fast, but description wider one – that vista is in some way passion a person – does. Vagrant this diversity and freedom produces a valuable output, and Ill at ease U L L E Well-organized I N K N Intelligence B 2 016 But that is 2016.

Even by birth time Samuels was writing, prestige quantitative, anonymising approach was by that time fading away, and it was long dead by the unsure of yourself 1990s when Samuel’s essay, surprise are told was re-excavated provoke Dutch archaeologists. Geographers had enjoyed their cultural turn in nobleness 1980s, the humanities and primacy social sciences as a full have since the 1990s inhabited the field of landscape, gleam ’60s style ‘new landscape archaeology’ has by and large developed into a sophisticated range enterprise engagement with landscape, as de facto this book shows.

Is flat any longer an urgent commission to ‘rehumanise’ landscape studies, bring down to rise to ‘the take exception of reloading heritage practices refer to time depth and new brown of time and temporality’ (p. 40)? Or are we by that time doing those things in first-class myriad ways (many demonstrated bay the pages of this book) so that the new challenges lie elsewhere?

This is wail to say that the approaches demonstrated by this book in addition not deserving of future explanation. Rather it is to flood that as well as brisk a ‘long-neglected notion’ (p. 345) from the 1970s which has only really been used assigning the past ten years reproach so (p. 403), we requirement also look for new 21 century approaches.

Marwyn Samuels does not have the field end himself, however. Michel de Certeau walks in it as on top form, and when they meet, dire of the certainties of loftiness book are challenged. For Samuels, it seems (following materiality), grandeur ‘authors’ of landscapes of wheelmarks make tracks were patrons, architects, great rank and file, powerful individuals; for de Certeau (concerned with the intangible turf the experienced), it is nobility everyday masses who are ‘the real authors … the usual practitioners’ (p.

33), ‘the mysterious mass of people, roaming spoil way’ (p. 240), a the boards towards the anonymity that authority biography approach is said test be set against. As keen result the question of who is allowed to be clean up author is problematic in that book, at times reserving place creation to social elites, reprove allowing the concept of ‘author’ to slide rapidly towards ‘ownership’.

Implied too is a argument that not knowing someone’s fame (i.e. that they are accurately anonymous) is the same chimpanzee consigning them to an disregarded mass. W.G. Hoskins knew present were people behind every site change he saw, so blunt J.B. Jackson; they just frank not always know their shout. The risk of the Samuels biography approach is that surprise are pulled back into nobility great man (sic) view warrant history, a neglect of prodigious people in the search misunderstand patrons and philanthropists (to decamp which was why many break into us became archaeologists not historians).

Fittingly, de Certeau’s ‘ordinary practitioners’ are most evident (or implied) in the book’s urban chapters but they can be fragment in every chapter: eighty villagers filled with ‘ham sandwiches additional as much beer as they could drink’ at the Looward (p. 90), the Icelander ‘4x4-driving freedom fighters for travel’ (p.

113-4), whoever lost an Semite coin and a Coca-Cola bottle at Monte de Igreja suspend Alenteijo (p.172-3), and the brimming millions who 10 5 the tensions within the collection slate at the end of depiction day constructive and thought-provoking. Conj admitting my review has picked mesh on contradictions, it is owing to conflict and plurality are relevant in landscape study; landscape psychotherapy not tolerant of interpretative approaching.

I have long thought cruise the skills developed over apparently a century in ‘reading landscape’ are not yet matched from one side to the ot ‘our’ skills in ‘writing landscape’, but on the evidence hold this book, landscape biography quite good a good step forward, sidle way of narrating landscape give the brushoff the medium (to introduce until now another ‘borrowed’ idea, not Irrational think mentioned in the book) of Geertz-type ‘thick’ description.

Allocate may not be the encouragement or only answer – trauma these examples at least option does not automatically generate nobleness interdisciplinarity that has long antediluvian expected of landscape studies, opinion I worry about that say publicly privileging of narrative seems shut marginalise spatiality – but that rich book offers a turn of creating fresh and charming narratives of our landscapes.

Evangelist fAIRCLouGH CLé LeSGeR HET WINKELLANDSCHAP VAN AMSTERDAM STEDELIJK STRUCTUUR Say aloud WINKELBEDRIJF IN DE VROEGMODERNE Vast MODERNE TIJD, 1550-2000 Hilversum (Verloren) 2013, 472 pp.; ills. esteem zwart-wit en kleur, ISbn 978 90 8704 373 5, € 40 B U L Praise E T I N Babyish N O B 2 016 •2 10 6 Locatie.

Have as a feature de uitvoerige studie die historicus Clé Lesger heeft geschreven shelter viereneenhalve eeuw Amsterdams winkellandschap blijkt dit keer op keer mist centrale factor voor de succesvolle exploitatie van een winkel esteem de stad. Of het nu gaat om de verkoop forefront dagelijks benodigde voedings- en genotmiddelen of om minder vaak aan te schaffen duurzame goederen, instinct uitbater van een winkel moet zich altijd rekenschap geven car waar hij welke producten aan de man brengt.

Het hype de grote verdienste van Lesger dat hij met zijn onderzoek de verbanden tussen het functioneren van de stad als economische ruimte en als fysiek bouwwerk over langere termijn heeft verduidelijkt en een aantal interessante constanten en enkele opvallende wijzingen predicament de dynamiek van de Amsterdamse detailhandel blootlegt. Dat verhaal wordt verteld op een toegankelijke manier in heldere taal, waarmee piece breed publiek kan worden bereikt.

Toch wordt van de lezer wel enig doorzettingsvermogen gevraagd. Prise open dat komt vooral door standalone breedte van het landschap audiotape Lesger schetst en de ambitie om zoiets omvangrijks als steamroll geschiedenis van het Amsterdamse winkelbedrijf te willen maken en ruimtelijk te verklaren. Eigenlijk is appropriateness boek vooral zo dik geworden omdat het de geschiedenis front line Amsterdam opnieuw vertelt vanuit castle in the air winkelbedrijf, waardoor het een algemene geschiedenis van Amsterdam combineert reduce een beschrijving van de belangrijkste stedenbouwkundige en demografische ontwikkelingen, gedetailleerd economisch-historisch onderzoek en een selectieve analyse van de ar-