Creating Geographical and Disciplinary Spaces: The Case of Soviet Permafrost Science

Disciplinary spaces have been defined as geographical areas where “the concepts and methods particular to a discipline are considered authoritative and relevant.” But how are ideas about geographical space created in the process of establishing scientific disciplines, and how do ideas about geographical space shape understandings of natural phenomena? In my remarks, I focus on connections between northern spaces and the earth sciences by exploring the case of Soviet permafrost science. During the 1930s, as a discipline centered on the study of frozen earth was institutionalized in the Soviet Union, the geographical space of the “permafrost region” and the disciplinary space of permafrost science evolved simultaneously, and both help to explain how a particular understanding of frozen earth developed and gained acceptance.