The University of Buckingham is introducing as part of its London
Programme a new research MA in Garden History. To quote the blurb and probably to preach to the converted:
'Interest in British gardens and their history has never been greater
than now. Historic gardens and designed landscapes are a major part of
the nation’s heritage, appreciated by more visitors than ever before.
Culturally as well as economically they are important national assets
that need to be understood for what they are: works of art that document
changing ideas and fashions, and which express the social, intellectual
and aesthetic values of those who created them, and for whom they were
created. They are also constantly changing, something that makes them
especially rewarding to study as over the course of time they may have
been refashioned and reinterpreted by successive generations, and are
constantly evolving. Garden history is not only about the past.
British designers lead the world in contemporary landscaping and
gardening, while magazines and television programmes continuously remind
us of how important gardens are to us, and of the part they a play in
our modern society. Historians of gardens and landscape architecture
draw on different kinds of evidence – visual, literary and intellectual,
as well as on what there is on the ground – to explore the ideas,
attitudes and approaches which any design contains within it.'
I would love to tak ethis course and whilst the organisers have tried very hard to minimise the attendance needed so it can be fitted into working life, sadly the evening attendance component doesn't fit with train times from Wiltshire.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they'll be able to add a distance learning option at a later date.