Bernard Debarbieux et Gilles Rudaz, Les faiseurs de montagne. Imaginaires politiques et territorialités (XVIIIe-XXIe siècle)

The Emerging Mountain Imaginary of the Galician Highlands: A New National Landscape in an Era of Globalization?

“…However, this discernment is not standardized, as the perception of what a mountain is differs among communities. Some imperceptible hills can be regarded as relevant mountains nearby, while orographic massifs, defined as mountainous by physical geographers and geologists, might not be conceived as such by the people living within or nearby -for a wider discussion in this respect, see Rudaz (2010) andDella Dora (2016). Indeed, classical geographers such as Roderick Peattie stated, in the 1930s, that mountains can only be defined by making use of "the imagination of the people who live within their shadow" (Byers, Price and Price 2013, 2).…”

“…), music, paintings, lithography printings, the first photographs and even souvenirs (for instance, porcelain dishes). This imagery became extremely popular and available to a wider public in the nineteenth century (Martínez de Pisón and Álvaro 2002;Nogué and Vicente 2004;Debarbieux and Rudaz 2010;Della Dora 2016). Nogué and Vicente (2004) analyze how certain mountainous landscapes have become symbols of nationalisms, including not only well established nation-states (e.g.…”

“…Certain mountains hold a deep national meaning for the respective countries they are located in (Nogué and Vicente 2004;Debarbieux and Rudaz 2010;Bernbaum and Price 2013;Della Dora 2016;Herb 2018). A case in point is Japan, quintessentially linked with Mount Fuji, customarily shown with sea waves, cherry trees and traditional architecture, but nowadays these icons have been replaced by other representations, such as manga and even the shinkansen.…”

“…In the current era of globalization, these imaginaries are quite commonly projected abroad, attaining world-wide significance. Debarbieux 2 (2004) proposed a framework regarding spatial imaginaries attached to mountains in western countries 1 that was broadened, gaining a planet-wide dimension, by Debarbieux and Rudaz (2010). In this model, the national imaginary of mountains is commonly expected.…”

“…Debarbieux's (2019) conceptualization of social imaginaries of space is the overall foundation for such an attempt; moreover, and more precisely, the specific theorizations on mountains constituting a socially framed spatial category (e.g. Debarbieux 2004;Debarbieux and Rudaz 2010; Della Dora 2016) and on landscapes becoming a national discourse (e.g. Nogué and Vicente 2014;Herb 2018) will be here addressed.…”