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Landscape Aesthetics and Politics

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Aesthetic Perspectives on Culture, Politics, and Landscape

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Abstract

The aim of the article is to show that the landscape conceived of as an aesthetic ‘object’ has a conspicuous political significance. Contrary to what still seems to be the dominant approach, landscape aesthetics should not treat landscapes mainly as sources of aesthetic pleasures quite similar to the ones offered by painted paysages. A much more theoretically and practically promising perspective is achieved when the concept of aesthetics is understood in line with the original meaning of the term, i.e. as denoting sensory experience. Consequently, landscapes turn out to be aesthetic insofar as they are sensory environments. As such, they are political at their core, as any such environment is shaped by politics, and likewise for the sensory (aesthetic) experiences they offer. Hence, landscapes may be defined as sensory appearances of the political. It, then, seems advisable that landscape aesthetics should play a conspicuous role in landscape theory dominated by sociological, economic and cultural approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warszawa, Poland

    Mateusz Salwa

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  1. Mateusz Salwa
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Correspondence to Mateusz Salwa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Elisabetta Di Stefano

  2. Copenhagen, Denmark

    Carsten Friberg

  3. School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Max Ryynänen

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Salwa, M. (2022). Landscape Aesthetics and Politics. In: Di Stefano, E., Friberg, C., Ryynänen, M. (eds) Aesthetic Perspectives on Culture, Politics, and Landscape. UNIPA Springer Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77830-9_7

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