Abstract

One landscape or tnany? A geographical perspective Paul Coones The recent surge of interest in landscape studies has created through differences of philosophy, methodology, technique, topic, period, materials, generated a feeling of confidence in the future of the subject and an eagerness to unravel the complexities district, scale, and not least by the sometimes striking contrasts which are apparent in the , personal of the British landscape by means of exciting reappraisals of inadequate generalisations, detailed backgrounds, outlooks, working habits and characters of the segregated groups of people analyses of themes identified as being of particular importance, and through the employment of new involved. Consequently, co-operation must extend specialist techniques. Despite this seemingly healthy beyond the purely empirical and technical levels to state of affairs, however, the current phase of explore these basic differences, for the objectives of energetic progress and multi-faceted investigation historic cultural landscape study do not amount to a would nevertheless appear to involve certain given, tacitly shared and agreed by all those fundamental difficulties. involved. It is not simply a case of supplying The term landscape has for long been variously individual pieces to a common jigsaw puzzle: each employed to embrace a bewildering diversity