Boundary spanning in social and cultural geography. (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jöns, Heike; Freytag, Tim
• Is Part Of: Social & cultural geography. Volume 17:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 22
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Knowledge transfer -- boundary spanning -- history of geography -- German-language geography -- English-language geography; transfert des connaissances -- décloisonnement -- histoire de la géographie -- géographie en langue allemande -- géographie en langue anglaise; transferencia de conocimiento -- expansión de límites -- historia de la geografía -- geografía de lengua alemana -- geografía en idioma inglés; Wissenstransfer -- Geschichte der Geographie -- Deutschland -- Vereinigtes Königreich -- USA; Human geography -- Periodicals; 304.205
• DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2015.1126628
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1464-9365

Abstract

Abstract : This article situates interactions between German- and English-language social and cultural geographies since the mid-twentieth century within their wider intellectual, political and socio-economic contexts. Based on case study examples, we outline main challenges of international knowledge transfer due to nationally and linguistically structured publication cultures, differing academic paradigms and varying promotion criteria. We argue that such transfer requires formal and informal platforms for academic debate, the commitment of boundary spanners and supportive peer groups. In German-language social and cultural geography, these three aspects induced a shift from a prevalent applied research tradition in the context of the modern welfare state towards a deeper engagement with Anglophone debates about critical and post-structuralist approaches that have helped to critique the rise of neoliberal governance since the 1990s. Anglophone and especially British social and cultural geography, firmly grounded in critical and post-structuralist thought since the 1980s, are increasingly pressurized through the neoliberal corporatization of the university to develop more applied features such as research impact and students' employability.