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On the Particularism of English Landscape Archaeology

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the question: why is the archaeology of English historic landscapes apparently so provincial? Inevitably the response must be that matters are more complex. In this paper, I examine the work of W. G. Hoskins, the “father of English landscape history,” and draw attention to: the complex way in which landscape is embedded in nationalism; the relations between locale, province, and nation; and the way wider tensions, in particular of colonialism are embedded within Hoskins's own discourse. In conclusion, I examine ways in which this problematic continues to structure enquiry into the English landscape today and to inhibit a genuinely international and comparative approach to historic landscapes.

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Correspondence to Matthew H. Johnson.

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Johnson, M.H. On the Particularism of English Landscape Archaeology. Int J Histor Archaeol 9, 111–122 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-005-8142-7

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