Landscape History Chapter

We are very excited to announce that in conjunction with the 2010 Annual SAH Meeting, the chapter will host our first Annual Landscape History Colloquium. Please join us on April 21 in Chicago for the full day of papers, presentations, discussions, and insight. More information can be found by clicking here. To register click here. We hope you will join us!!

This year's SAH meeting will also feature other landscape sessions. Nicole Huber and Ralph Stern are chairing a session that might interest many titled ALPENREISEN UND WÜSTENWANDERUNGEN: ENVISIONING LANDSCAPES OF EARLY MODERNITY. Katherine Rinne is chairing the session THE SOURCE OF THE SOUL: WATER FOR PRE-INDUSTRIAL GARDENS .

Last year, in Pasadena, we hosted our 4th annual pedagogy roundtable led elegantly by Susan Herrington and Tal Alon-Mozes. They began by presenting ideas and challenges of teaching the history survey and Susan shared student projects. We discussed teaching backwards (in terms of history that is, not physical orientation) and posed ideas for linking history to contemporary issues. At the end we discussed extending the discussion to a day long symposium focused as much on scholarship as on teaching.

On friday we had our annual chapter meeting hosted by our President Judith Major. Thaisa reported 120 members for the chapter, a newsletter in the making, and landscape sessions and tours as part of the meeting- all goals articulated by the chapter last year. Members were encouraged to submit syllabi to share to the website- you can do this by merely sending the syllabus to Thaisa (tway@u.washington.edu)- it will be turned into a pdf/ copyrighted and ready to share by password. A reminder was also given to all to consider JSAH for publication of your scholarship. The editors of JSAH are very interested in the inclusion of landscape architectural history papers.

The new officers elected are Thaisa Way as President and Susan Herrington as Vice President. Many thanks to Judith Major for her two years as President. A call for nominations for the advisory board was made- send nominations to Judith Major.

The rest of the meeting was focused on ideas for a one or two-day symposium in landscape history scholarship / historiography. Topics mentioned included technology, doing landscape history, history and theory, preservation, and teaching history.

As always- let me know if you come across a good publication, if your work is published (journal articles and/ or books) and if you hear of any conferences, calls for papers, and other events of interest to landscape historians.

Judith, Thaisa, and Susan

History: In April 2004 a new Landscape History Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians was launched. The consensus was that such a chapter could help increase the breadth and depth of work in the field as well as help overcome disciplinary and geographic isolation by providing an informal structure for the exchange of ideas, sources, and research concerned with the design and reading of the landscape. The purview of the chapter might extend from the cultural landscape to botanical studies (and related materials) and a range of topics in between. Chapter members will solicit membership from a wide variety of disciplines concerned with landscape history.

The mission of the chapter is as follows:

- To encourage research in landscape, gardening, and horticultural history, and to promote the dissemination of such research through publications, meetings, lectures, and other such means as may be authorized by the membership.
- To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas related to these disciplines by programs at the meetings, visits, and functions of the Chapter. - To offer an opportunity for its members to visit significant sites or collections in North America.
- To promote conservation, preservation, and recording of significant landscapes.
- To cooperate with learned and professional societies in the pursuit of common objectives.

The current Advisory Board was selected to represent a diverse range of interests and areas of expertise and includes:
Thaisa Way, University of Washington, Seattle, President
Susan Herrington, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Vice President

In addition to the officers, an advisory board includes:
Judith Major, University of Kansas, Past President (2011)
Marc Treib, University of California, Berkely (2010)
Thorbjorn Andersson, Swedish Agricultural University, Ultuna (2010)
D. Fairchild Ruggles, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2010)
Dorothee Imbert, Harvard University (2010)

The Chapter works towards at least one session at the SAH annual meeting devoted to landscape history. Other activities included establishing a book display of landscape-related titles at the next annual meeting. Efforts are also being made to add a landscape tour to the program of each annual meeting The creation of an electronic bulletin board has also been suggested for addition to the new SAH website.

Membership in SAH is required to participate fully in the activities of this chapter. Please consider joining us and participating in the Landscape History Chapter activities.