Research subject Historical Geography and Landscape Studies

Historical geography and landscape studies investigate the relation between farming, livelihoods and the environment in the past, the present and the future.

Our researchers study questions regarding land use, ownership and cultural heritage in both urban and rural settings. These studies are applied in analysis forestry, conservation and planning. Strongly rooted in the historical geography of (agricultural) landscapes in Sweden, the group has broadened its interests to include farming landscapes globally. Besides ongoing projects in Europe, our researchers are carrying out projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mongolia, Ukraine and Israel/Palestine. In addition, the profile have contributed to improving GIS and remote sensing tools for reading landscapes from a social science perspective.

The core interest of this research profile are farming, landscape and society. Specifically, our researchers are focusing on (one or more) of the following topics:

• Farming as a practice, including farmers’ knowledge and labour investments
• Landscape as society-nature relations, congealed history, symbology and as space and place
• Society and land as a short form for political ecology, gender relations, political economy and scientific relevance

Historical geography and landscape studies is a “leading field of research” within the Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University.

The research interests and activities of the profile are further represented in the blog FarmLandS and the Rural Landscapes Journal.