ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the conception of culture and landscape has changed historically, along with the role and significance of geography. It argues that landscape remains an important medium through which to interrogate the construction of identity and the politicization of space. The chapter identifies distinct differences between historical, vernacular culture and more contemporary, political or constructed understandings of culture. Jackson in A Sense of Time, A Sense of Place focuses on the former, highlighting the often-disregarded importance of vernacular culture in identity formation. For Jackson, what is significant is the fact that the transmission of this culture relied mainly on direct imitation, observation and words. Vernacular cultures appear to be increasingly considered as localized components of global cultures and direct knowledge of the way in which daily life has been produced has disappeared. For those who struggle to maintain local identities, preventing the transformations that would deprive local populations of landscapes representative of their historical triumphs is crucial.
