The connections between society and the landscape go beyond descriptive sociological perspectives of biophysical landscapes. Holistically, contemporary rural sociology incorporates philosophical, cultural, anthropological and ecological interactions between man and nature, and between social and ecological systems. European, and particularly Czech, landscapes represent ecological as well as sociocultural heritages. Human experiences with landscapes, social and cultural constructions and transformations of landscapes, and the ways in which we bring meaning to landscapes are the main topics of this course.

A primary aim of rural sociology is to show landscape both as a geo-ecological phenomenon and as a sociocultural construction. The development of basic knowledge of ecological and cultural constructions of the Czech and European landscapes thus requires us to discuss a range of topics, including contemporary environmental and ecological issues, globalization and the landscape, and orientations in pan-European landscape typology.  Hours for the seminars will be used for the excursion for into real landscape.