In "Living in the Landscape" Arnold Berleant explores new ways of
thinking about how we live--and might live--in the landscapes that
enfold us. Through the concepts of "aesthetic engagement" and
"environmental continuity," he proposes a new paradigm that offers
a holistic approach to the meaning of place and places of meaning
in our lives.
Although environmental aesthetics is linked in the popular mind
to dramatic vistas and monumental landscapes--the Grand Canyon, for
example--Berleant is much more concerned with the commonplace
settings of everyday life. He argues that our active appreciation
of (or "aesthetic engagement" with) the prosaic landscapes of home,
work, local travel, and recreation plays a vital role in our
discovery of hidden continuities, as well as pleasure and meaning,
in the places we inhabit.
Berleant begins with a general introduction to environmental
aesthetics, identifying the kinds of experience, meanings, and
values it involves, and describing its historical sources and the
issues with which it is concerned. In the rest of the book, he
spotlights new directions in the field-as they relate to education,
community, creativity, and the sacred-and provides an insightful
analysis of "negative environmental aesthetics." Throughout, he is
both thoughtful and entertaining, as evidenced in his extended
critique of the pop post-modern environment of Disney World.
Berleant addresses issues commonly associated with the
environmental movement--e.g., preservation, pollution control, and
quality of life. But his study draws from a wide range of
disciplines and for that reason should also appeal to scholars and
students interested in art and aesthetics, landscape architecture
and planning, urban and environmental design, and cultural
geography, as well as environmental studies.
General
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