Keywords Natural conditions of culture · Human impact on nature · Timeline ·
Critical media studies
1 Introduction
The analysis of the way in which the physical environment influences cultural life is
known as environmental determinism. Human nature, behaviour and culture are
directly connected with environmental conditions and change, and vice versa. The
targets of human development are linked with targets for the use of nature. Ecosystem services are ecosystem functions that result in human benefits (e.g. Herrmann
2016; Matthews et al. 2012).
Environmental history, including landscape history, reflects the interrelationship
between human activities and the surrounding landscapes and nature, between
resource use and well-being. There is nothing, no aspect of human life which is
independent of the environment, of ecological conditions or ecosystem services.
Moreover, extreme values and extreme events seem to be more relevant for the
understanding of ecosystems, human behaviour and awareness than average values
or everyday life (de Haan and Ferreira 2006; Gifford 2014).
History shows an increasing influence of cultural life on the physical environment, which does not imply that humans are becoming increasingly independent of
the environment. However, as the market expands from local to global the meaning
of regional and seasonal products decreases, to such extremes that you can buy
bananas in the Arctic.
The terms culture, landscape and environment have different etymological roots
and they are of very different ages (cf. Flint and Murphy 1997, also for the following
definitions).
The word culture, from Latin cultura is related to tilling the land and was already
used by the ancient Romans in the sense of agriculture.
The word landscape was first used in Central Europe during the Middle Ages. It
originally related to the people in rural areas. At this time the term landscape referred
to people and families living alone or in small groups far from urban areas, rather
than to their surroundings. The meaning of the term has since changed and today a
landscape comprises the physical structures and habitats typical of a certain region.
The term environment is relatively young (modern era). It has French roots and
the meaning is the state or condition of the surroundings in which humans operate. In
a broader sense, the term is also used for other kinds of organisms.
Cultural history, landscape history and environmental history all have different
focuses and encompass different aspects of history. In the following, these different
histories are used to focus on the cultural development which has developed as a
result of a changing environment and past relationships between humans and the
environment/landscape.
The central questions of this chapter are:
4
C. Hobohm
Critical media studies
1 Introduction
The analysis of the way in which the physical environment influences cultural life is
known as environmental determinism. Human nature, behaviour and culture are
directly connected with environmental conditions and change, and vice versa. The
targets of human development are linked with targets for the use of nature. Ecosystem services are ecosystem functions that result in human benefits (e.g. Herrmann
2016; Matthews et al. 2012).
Environmental history, including landscape history, reflects the interrelationship
between human activities and the surrounding landscapes and nature, between
resource use and well-being. There is nothing, no aspect of human life which is
independent of the environment, of ecological conditions or ecosystem services.
Moreover, extreme values and extreme events seem to be more relevant for the
understanding of ecosystems, human behaviour and awareness than average values
or everyday life (de Haan and Ferreira 2006; Gifford 2014).
History shows an increasing influence of cultural life on the physical environment, which does not imply that humans are becoming increasingly independent of
the environment. However, as the market expands from local to global the meaning
of regional and seasonal products decreases, to such extremes that you can buy
bananas in the Arctic.
The terms culture, landscape and environment have different etymological roots
and they are of very different ages (cf. Flint and Murphy 1997, also for the following
definitions).
The word culture, from Latin cultura is related to tilling the land and was already
used by the ancient Romans in the sense of agriculture.
The word landscape was first used in Central Europe during the Middle Ages. It
originally related to the people in rural areas. At this time the term landscape referred
to people and families living alone or in small groups far from urban areas, rather
than to their surroundings. The meaning of the term has since changed and today a
landscape comprises the physical structures and habitats typical of a certain region.
The term environment is relatively young (modern era). It has French roots and
the meaning is the state or condition of the surroundings in which humans operate. In
a broader sense, the term is also used for other kinds of organisms.
Cultural history, landscape history and environmental history all have different
focuses and encompass different aspects of history. In the following, these different
histories are used to focus on the cultural development which has developed as a
result of a changing environment and past relationships between humans and the
environment/landscape.
The central questions of this chapter are:
4
C. Hobohm