Think globally and act locally: Voices of Chinese human geographers in the international arena

Abstract

With the help of the mapping software Citespace and based on analysis of international human geographers’ journal outputs in terms of countries of residence, institutions, journals and key topics, this article demonstrates Chinese scholars’ contributions to both top and regional journals in the field. The analysis shows that Anglophone geographers have been leading the development of human geography. It also demonstrates that human geographers have taken a more micro and dynamic perspective to explain environmental and social phenomena, rather than a macro and narrative approach. Scholars tend to focus more on daily life, with research topics such as home, food, body and other micro-material matters. The analysis further finds that emotional geography, geography of embodiment, food geography as well as non-representational theory have drawn increasing attention from researchers. People's perceptions of nature have been constructed through the development and negotiation of social relations. As China becomes more visible internationally in the context of a highly globalized and mobile world, increasing numbers of Chinese geographers have become involved in research on human geography. Some representative scholars and institutions, especially those based in Hong Kong, act as academic leaders by articulating their own voices to tell the unique Chinese story internationally through the publication of their research.