Dialogue and the Circulation of Knowledge: Revisiting the International Dialogue Project, 1977–1988
(2025) SGEM08 20251Department of Human Geography
- Abstract
- This thesis explores how dialogue functioned as a practice of knowledge circulation within the International Dialogue Project (1977–1988), an ambitious and largely overlooked initiative led by Anne Buttimer and Torsten Hägerstrand. Conceived as an effort to bridge generational, disciplinary, and geographic divides, the project produced over 150 video-recorded interviews with senior scholars from various academic backgrounds. Drawing on a newly indexed corpus of Hägerstrand’s correspondence, the thesis pursues two main objectives: first, to understand how dialogue operated as a relational and situated practice of knowledge circulation within the Dialogue Project; and, second, to consider the implications of this case for contemporary... (More)
- This thesis explores how dialogue functioned as a practice of knowledge circulation within the International Dialogue Project (1977–1988), an ambitious and largely overlooked initiative led by Anne Buttimer and Torsten Hägerstrand. Conceived as an effort to bridge generational, disciplinary, and geographic divides, the project produced over 150 video-recorded interviews with senior scholars from various academic backgrounds. Drawing on a newly indexed corpus of Hägerstrand’s correspondence, the thesis pursues two main objectives: first, to understand how dialogue operated as a relational and situated practice of knowledge circulation within the Dialogue Project; and, second, to consider the implications of this case for contemporary debates on academic communication. The research contributes to the history of geographic thought, geographies of science, and interdisciplinary communication by developing a conceptual framework that integrates Bakhtinian dialogism with geographical approaches to knowledge production. Dialogue is conceptualised as a situated process, shaped by material conditions and the relational tensions through which knowledge is negotiated. The thesis shows that dialogue in the Dialogue Project was understood as both method and metaphor, and that the notion was used to counter the fragmentation of knowledge through reflexive, autobiographical interviews. However, archival materials reveal that institutional asymmetries, material constraints, and differing expectations across academic cultures shaped how dialogue was enacted in practice. By tracing how knowledge moves through media such as videotapes and letters, the thesis emphasises the spatial and relational conditions of dialogue. Ultimately, the Dialogue Project is worth revisiting because it highlights both the promise and limitations of dialogue as a scholarly practice. It shows the need for reflexivity, care, and attentiveness to medium in knowledge exchange, lessons that remain highly relevant amid today’s evolving landscape of scholarly communication. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9196216
- author
- Fuchs, Colin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SGEM08 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- International Dialogue Project, knowledge circulation, Torsten Hägerstrand, Anne Buttimer, archive
- language
- English
- id
- 9196216
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-11 12:56:51
- date last changed
- 2025-06-11 12:56:51
@misc{9196216,
abstract = {{This thesis explores how dialogue functioned as a practice of knowledge circulation within the International Dialogue Project (1977–1988), an ambitious and largely overlooked initiative led by Anne Buttimer and Torsten Hägerstrand. Conceived as an effort to bridge generational, disciplinary, and geographic divides, the project produced over 150 video-recorded interviews with senior scholars from various academic backgrounds. Drawing on a newly indexed corpus of Hägerstrand’s correspondence, the thesis pursues two main objectives: first, to understand how dialogue operated as a relational and situated practice of knowledge circulation within the Dialogue Project; and, second, to consider the implications of this case for contemporary debates on academic communication. The research contributes to the history of geographic thought, geographies of science, and interdisciplinary communication by developing a conceptual framework that integrates Bakhtinian dialogism with geographical approaches to knowledge production. Dialogue is conceptualised as a situated process, shaped by material conditions and the relational tensions through which knowledge is negotiated. The thesis shows that dialogue in the Dialogue Project was understood as both method and metaphor, and that the notion was used to counter the fragmentation of knowledge through reflexive, autobiographical interviews. However, archival materials reveal that institutional asymmetries, material constraints, and differing expectations across academic cultures shaped how dialogue was enacted in practice. By tracing how knowledge moves through media such as videotapes and letters, the thesis emphasises the spatial and relational conditions of dialogue. Ultimately, the Dialogue Project is worth revisiting because it highlights both the promise and limitations of dialogue as a scholarly practice. It shows the need for reflexivity, care, and attentiveness to medium in knowledge exchange, lessons that remain highly relevant amid today’s evolving landscape of scholarly communication.}},
author = {{Fuchs, Colin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Dialogue and the Circulation of Knowledge: Revisiting the International Dialogue Project, 1977–1988}},
year = {{2025}},
}