The Bohemian Alps as a Substantive Landscape

Abstract

abstract:The term “landscape” entered the lexicon of American social scientists approximately one hundred years ago primarily through the work of the eminent geographer Carl Sauer. Since that time, its myriad definitions have been engaged with by numerous scholars seeking to employ it as a meaningful concept, particularly in the study of what geographers call “human–environment interactions.” It has become a central concept in related fields like cultural ecology, landscape architecture, conservation, and planning, yet when the term is used it is often unclear what precisely it is meant to denote. This article engages several contemporary definitions of landscape to investigate one of Nebraska’s most famous landscapes, known colloquially as the Bohemian Alps. Ultimately, I suggest that Kenneth Olwig’s concept of substantive landscape is the most useful for coming to a deeper understanding of this region and should be employed in similar studies.