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Mountains, Mobilities and Movement pp 129–153Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

How Can One Be a ‘Montagnard’? Social and Political Expressions of Modern Imaginaries of Territoriality

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Abstract

The historical variations in the definition of the notion of culture, along with the variations of so-called cultural geography are well known; these have led to the disapproval of naturalistic and ecological perspectives, and to a greater consideration of intersubjectivity and of political and social processes in the construction of identity. But this renewal of academic paradigms should not blind us to the fact that many of them sprung from contemporary societies as imaginary figures, enabling social and geographical forms to take place. In looking through identity and territorial tensions in mountain regions in the world, this chapter aims to show the presence and role of those imaginary figures in contemporary societies.

This paper is an almost complete translation of a paper published in Annales de Géographie, 2008, 660–661, 90–115, called “Construits identitaires et imaginaires de la territorialité: variations autour de la figure du « montagnard »”

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In French, montagnards has been the main word used for designating individuals living in mountain regions for centuries, both among scientists and in ordinary language. The same word has been common for pointing at mountain climbers since the mid-nineteenth century. It is only from the mid-twentieth century that it has become common to talk about populations de montagne. In English, ‘mountaineer’ was equivalent to ‘montagnards’ until the mid-nineteenth century; then, the word became reserved for climbers and sportsmen, individuals living in the so-called mountain regions being mostly named ‘mountain populations’ or ‘mountain people’. Some regional appellations have been adopted such as hillbilly in the Appalachian mountains and highlander in Scotland, both loaded with many connotations which will be commented later in this chapter.

  2. 2.

    See for example David Barkin and Michèle Dominy, 2001, ‘Mountain lands: regions of refuge or ecosystems for humanity?’ in B. Debarbieux and F. Gillet, op. cit., pp. 71–77.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Bernard Debarbieux

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  1. Bernard Debarbieux
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  1. School of Architecture, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Christos Kakalis

  2. History of Art Department, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Emily Goetsch

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Debarbieux, B. (2018). How Can One Be a ‘Montagnard’? Social and Political Expressions of Modern Imaginaries of Territoriality. In: Kakalis, C., Goetsch, E. (eds) Mountains, Mobilities and Movement. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58635-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58635-3_7

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