Representation and alienation in the political land-scape

The question of representation in the definition of landscape is arguably at thenexus of important theoretical issues in the social sciences and humanities, and isin evident need of clarification. A key but largely overlooked concept in the debateon landscape and representation is the concept of alienation and, by extension, theconcepts of commodification and reification. This paper will first examine therelation between landscape representation and alienation in terms of its substantivehistorical meaning, the transferral of ownership of rights in the land=property andthe loss of rights which effectively makes one an alien, or foreigner, in the land.It will then examine this relationship in terms of the philosophical concern withalienation and objectification, particularly as explicated by the literary scholarand philosopher Georg Lukaacs