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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022

David and Max Lowenthal - and Marsh: public intellectuals and advocates in the political landscape. A personal view

Olwig, Kenneth R.

Abstract

Taking its point of departure in the prominent, and controversial, legal, political and social engagement of David Lowenthal's lawyer father, Max Lowenthal, this article first explores the evident influence of Max Lowenthal on his son's distinctive, socially engaged approach to scholarship and writing as an academic, and as a public intellectual. It will then consider how Max Lowenthal's example facilitated David Lowenthal's subsequent lifelong involvement with the work of another publicly engaged and multifaceted lawyer, George Perkins Marsh. This background can help understand why David Lowenthal was himself a multifaceted advocate, whose work appealed to a broad readership of academics, professionals and laymen. Focusing on David Lowenthal's writings from the beginning of his career until his death in 2018, the essay will illuminate the political landscape of his thinking and doing concerning cultural and environmental heritage.

Keywords

David Lowenthal; Max Lowenthal; George Perkins Marsh; Carl Sauer; Richard Hartshorne; Political Landscape; Heritage and Environmental Studies

Published in

Landscape Research
2022, Volume: 47, number: 4, pages: 477-487
Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR AND FRANCIS LTD