University geography in China: History, opportunities, and challenges

Abstract

This Themed-Intervention commentary provides a brief overview of the history of geography as a modern academic discipline in China, its development in the reform era (1979-), and the distinctive conventions and norms that distinguish it from paradigms and practices of geography in the Anglophone academia. We identify two tensions: between sciences and social sciences orientations, and between applied knowledge and critical/reflexive knowlegde. These tensions are both internal to geography in China, and exist between Chinese and Anglophone geography, the latter as embodied in major international journals. Mindful of these tensions, this commentary develops reflections over geography education in China and the challenges faced by academic dialogues between Chinese and Anglophone geographers.