<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Seeing Human Geography as a nexus of temporally oscillating concepts, this paper investigates the dissemination of scientific ideas with a focus on extra-scientific factors. While scientific progress is usually evaluated in terms of intellectual achievement of the individual researcher, geographers tend to forget about the external factors that tacitly yet critically contribute to knowledge production. While these externalities are well-documented in the natural sciences, social sciences have not yet seen comparable scrutiny. Using Torsten Hägerstrand’s rise to prominence as a concrete example, we explore this perspective in a social-science case – Human Geography. Applying an STS (Science and Technology Studies) approach, we depart from a model of science as socially-materially contingent, with special focus on three extra-scientific factors: community norms, materiality and the political climate. These factors are all important in order for knowledge to be disseminated into the hinterland of Human Geography. We conclude it is these types of conditions that in practice escape the relativism of representation.</p></abstract>

Seeing Human Geography as a nexus of temporally oscillating concepts, this paper investigates the dissemination of scientific ideas with a focus on extra-scientific factors. While scientific progress is usually evaluated in terms of intellectual achievement of the individual researcher, geographers tend to forget about the external factors that tacitly yet critically contribute to knowledge production. While these externalities are well-documented in the natural sciences, social sciences have not yet seen comparable scrutiny. Using Torsten Hägerstrand’s rise to prominence as a concrete example, we explore this perspective in a social-science case – Human Geography. Applying an STS (Science and Technology Studies) approach, we depart from a model of science as socially-materially contingent, with special focus on three extra-scientific factors: community norms, materiality and the political climate. These factors are all important in order for knowledge to be disseminated into the hinterland of Human Geography. We conclude it is these types of conditions that in practice escape the relativism of representation.

Human Geography and the hinterland: The case of Torsten Hägerstrand’s ‘belated’ recognition

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Economy and Society – Unit for Human Geography

Moravian Geographical Reports

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Seeing Human Geography as a nexus of temporally oscillating concepts, this paper investigates the dissemination of scientific ideas with a focus on...

Human Geography and the hinterland: The case of Torsten Hägerstrand’s ‘belated’ recognition

Published Online: Jul 08, 2017

Page range: 74 - 84

Received: May 06, 2016

Accepted: Jan 03, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0007

Keywords
knowledge production, hinterland, social science, Human Geography, Torsten Hägerstrand, STS

© 2017 René Brauer et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Human Geography and the hinterland: The case of Torsten Hägerstrand’s ‘belated’ recognition

Published Online: Jul 08, 2017

Page range: 74 - 84

Received: May 06, 2016

Accepted: Jan 03, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0007

Keywordsknowledge production, hinterland, social science, Human Geography, Torsten Hägerstrand, STS

© 2017 René Brauer et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
knowledge production, hinterland, social science, Human Geography, Torsten Hägerstrand, STS