Cultural landscapes are argued to be the entwining of landscapes with human thought and activity. The humanised landscape has become one of the key theoretical and practical tools used in heritage studies and heritage practice to understand the way in which humans have engaged with the natural environment and modified environments to create new forms of landscape. The diversity of types of such landscapes are considered throughout this course including the cultural values of so called ‘natural landscapes', Indigenous cultural landscapes, landscapes of settlement and use, cultural routes, tracks and transport, build heritage environments, parks and gardens and other forms of contemporary cultural landscapes. This course examines the theoretical underpinnings of the cultural landscape and cultural route concept, its history in western thought and its realisation in policy and practice, including through the World Heritage system. 

The course will consider means of recognising and reading cultural landscapes and cultural routes, including the practices of determining their values and their defining elements. Practical issues of managing cultural landscapes and routes will be brought into focus through detailed case studies that consider the challenges of conserving cultural values in a world of complex social and economic demands. Finally the currency of the cultural landscape and route concept is critically examined through examples of its cross-cultural application.

On completing this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1.     use appropriate written and verbal expression for a variety of relevant professional and academic purposes that involve cultural landscape issues including essays, report prepartation and analysis, funding applications and policy preparation and advice;

2.     apply interdisciplinary thinking and the ability to apply theoretical ideas to case studies;

3.     participate more effectively in workplaces requiring an understanding of cultural landscape issues. This includes research, analysis, and verbal and written presentation at the standard expected of a postgraduate degree; and

4.     apply a functioning knowledge of current policy frameworks for cultural landscapes to academic and professional practice.

• Class debate (presentation and 1000 word summary) 20%
• Landscape assessment (2000 words) 30%
• Presentation (10 minutes) 25%
• 5 x class worksheets (500 words each) 25%

Contact time for this 6 unit course will be approximately 39 hours for the semester. This includes a 3 hour weekly seminar. The course convenor may include field trips to local sites and organisations where appropriate and, as such, some weeks will require a greater time commitment from students. It is recommended that students undertake around 5-6 hours total study per week including time spent in class and/or listening to recorded lectures, required and extra reading, research, assignments etc. However, a student’s actual workload in this course will depend on many individual factors such as prior knowledge, existing skills (including in academic reading and information literacy) and learning style.

Courses offered from the Liberal Arts program, specifically the Cultural and Environmental Heritage sub-plan.

• Bender, B. (1993) Landscape, politics and perspectives, Berg, Providence.
• Droste, B., Plachter, H. and Rossler, M. (1995) Cultural landscapes of universal value - Components of a global strategy, Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart.
• Fowler, P. J. (2003) World Heritage cultural landscapes 1992-2002, UNESCO, Paris.

WATTLE website