Contingency, Realism, and the Expansion Method

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between scientific realism and the expansion method. The frame of reference for our investigation is their joint conceptualization of “contingency.” We first explore the varied historical meanings of contingency; this is followed by a survey of its differential deployment within geographic thought. Attention then turns to theorizations of contingency in realism and the expansion method. The final portion of the paper assesses the potential for integrating these two analytic traditions within geographic research.