Rural worlds remembered: A thematic journey through historiographical shifts

Abstract This paper outlines a structured bibliometric methodology for analyzing rural history as a scholarly field from 1989 to 2025. Drawing from Scopus, a filtered dataset of 436 research articles was compiled through a multi-phase selection process focused on thematic and disciplinary relevance. Using tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and bibliometrix (R), the study explores patterns in authorship, citations, and keyword usage, offering insights into the field’s development. The findings demonstrate a clear shift from traditional European agrarian narratives toward more diverse, global, and interdisciplinary approaches, integrating themes from cultural history, political ecology, and spatial analysis. Clustering and trend analyses reveal how rural history has evolved methodologically and conceptually, moving beyond its empirical foundations toward more critical and multi-scalar perspectives. This framework offers a replicable model for future historiographical assessments and contributes to understanding the role of rural history within broader academic discourse.