International scholarship is increasingly aware that the ‘geographical tradition’ is a contentious and contested field: while critical reflections on the imperial past of the discipline are still ongoing, new tendencies including de-colonial studies and geographies of internationalism are focusing on the progressive aspects of plural geographical traditions. This volume contains selected papers presented at two Symposia of the Commission on the History of Geography of the International Geographical Union within the 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology which took place in Rio de Janeiro in July 2017.

The papers address processes of ‘decolonising’ and ‘internationalising’ science in the 19th and 20th century, with a special emphasis on geography. Internationalization, circulation and dissemination of geographical concepts and ideas are in the focus. The volume includes case studies on Latin America, tropical regions as well as Europe and Japan. Thereis also an emphasis on the history of international congresses and organizations and on the international circulation of knowledge.