Working Group on Space-lore and Place-lore
The WG announces the publication of a special issue on “Landscapes in Transition” in the journal Český lid / Czech Ethnological Journal (Issue 3, Vol. 111 (2024)), which originates from the 2023 SIEF Congress panel “Landscapes in Transition: Tracing the Past – Facing Uncertainties of the Future”.
New Special Issue of the Český lid / Czech Ethnological Journal: “Landscapes in Transition”.
The Space-lore and Place-lore working group announces the publication of a special issue on Landscapes in Transition in the journal Český lid / Czech Ethnological Journal (Issue 3, Vol. 111 (2024)). This special issue emerges from our ongoing research and discussions on the dynamic, evolving nature of landscapes, shaped by both human and nonhuman forces. The issue draws from a diverse range of perspectives, offering profound insights into how landscapes are undergoing transformation processes.
The special issue originates from the 2023 SIEF Congress panel Landscapes in Transition: Tracing the Past – Facing Uncertainties of the Future. The panel explored how temporal, social, and environmental factors drive landscape transformations and offered interdisciplinary approaches to understanding these transitions in various regions across Europe.
The special issue includes four featured studies, covering topics such as:
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The theoretical exploration of landscape transitions in the Anthropocene.
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The transformation of industrial landscapes in Lithuania and the memory of deindustrialization.
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The historical transition of the Bohemian Forest from a timber-producing area to a tourist landscape.
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The post-mining landscape in Lusatia, Germany, and its reinvention as a heritage site.
These contributions underscore the importance of researching landscapes in transition to comprehend the deep, multifaceted changes affecting local ecologies, cultural identities, and socioeconomic dynamics. The editorial emphasizes that understanding these shifts—whether gradual or rapid, local or global—is critical for developing effective strategies to address current and future environmental and societal challenges.
We encourage all members of the SIEF community to explore this timely and insightful issue, accessible online via Český lid / Czech Ethnological Journal (link: https://ceskylid.avcr.cz/en/home).
