Introduction

The introduction defines the subject – landscape history – and introduces some of its dimensions, as well as outlining the aims of this book. Teaching should seek to open students’ minds to the diversity of viewpoints of those assessing or being affected by change. Inherently multidisciplinary, the subject considers design and its social and environmental aspects, also new topics like the Anthropocene, climate change and multispecies thinking. As the subject of landscape widens, so do the specialisms in its practice. As landscape history widens, it becomes clear how constrained its teaching – predominantly just design history – has traditionally been; and the desirability of secure foundations for its rebuilding to meet the needs of new approaches to the subject.