Panel discussion of Henry Yeung’s Theory and Explanation in Geography
Abstract
This paper focuses on Henry Yeung’s recently published book with Wiley, Theory and Explanation in Geography, discussing it through the lens of an international group of scholars and from various perspectives. On the one hand, the current study aligns with the volume’s main message to create and apply mid-range explanatory theories in geography more intensively, rather than relying too heavily on theories imported from other disciplines, such as philosophy, which often overlook different geographical contexts and provide inadequate causal explanations. We also advocate for the conscious promotion of the internationalisation and decolonisation of geography through such theories. On the other hand, the paper examines the challenges and ambiguities of how geographers can become more self-reflective and philosophically educated to develop better theories, as well as how the history and philosophy of geography, as a subfield of the discipline, can contribute to this goal.
This study also scrutinises the relationship between proximity, scale, and causality, discusses the book’s major takeaways through a Central and Eastern European lens, and, even more broadly, analyses the structural shifts the volume and its referencing patterns indicate in the international practice of doing geographical research during the last half a century. By doing so, the article summarises the conclusions of a panel discussion held in November 2024 at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the only book launch event of Theory and Explanation in Geography to have occurred so far in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Henry Wai-chung Yeung, Paloma Puente Lozano, József Benedek, Andreea Țoiu, Ferenc Gyuris
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