Perspectives: A New Column in the AAG Newsletter
In May, we introduced a new column to the AAG Newsletter called Perspectives, replacing AAG’s former Op-Ed feature. Perspectives will share the opinions and ideas of members on issues of relevance to geography. We encourage submissions that stimulate dialogue, get members thinking, and challenge our discipline to take new approaches to the social, political, and environmental issues confronting geographers and the public.
We are grateful to Guo Chen of Michigan State University, whose article “Working Together for Racial and Social Justice: From Anti-Asian Racism and Violence to Anti-Racist Praxis in Geography” was the first Perspective to appear, last month. We look forward to sharing more of our members’ thought-provoking commentary in the coming months.
One of the great strengths and challenges of the discipline of geography is that it embraces the world. We envision Perspectives as having wide-ranging potential, showcasing our members’ voices, experiences, and opinions regarding virtually any topic. We want to make space for members to engage and challenge one another, taking on questions that help illuminate and strengthen the relevance of geography to people’s lives.
In all cases, the articles will focus on the best ideas: showcasing novel ways of considering social, political, and geography concepts, adhering to the AAG Code of Conduct and supporting AAG’s goal of fostering robust discussion and respectful disagreement. Optimal length is 1,000-1,500 words.
So, do you have a probing question or fresh inspiration for the discipline? Do you have a unique and engaging response to a column or feature article you’ve seen in our newsletter? We want to hear from you. Consider submitting a column for consideration as an upcoming Perspectives. Read more about our submission guidelines here.
DOI: 10.14433/2017.0092
Please note: The ideas expressed by Executive Director Gary Langham are not necessarily the views of the AAG as a whole. Please feel free to email him at glangham [at] aag [dot] org.
The late Will Graf would end his AAG President’s columns with this optimistic affirmation: It’s a good day for Geography. Given the last year, you might be surprised to hear that it is just as true today as it was during his tenure in 1998-99. Let me explain.
In June 2020, the Association for Asian American Studies issued an open call for putting an immediate end to anti-Black racism and advancing efforts toward achieving global social justice. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and George Floyd pulled a painful trigger for many Asian Americans… Since January 2020, the lives of Asian-heritage people in the U.S. and likely the same for those in other countries have been violently shaken. Asian Americans were among the first to help local communities combat Covid-19, while racist attacks were increasing in cities like Los Angeles…
The most recent issue of The Professional Geographer has been published online (
In addition to the most recently published journal, read the latest issue of the other AAG journals online:
The J. Warren Nystrom Award, established by a former AAG President to annually recognize a paper based on a recent dissertation in geography, is awarded during a special session at the AAG Annual Meeting. Two recipients were chosen for the 2021 AAG Nystrom Award: Daniela Aiella, currently a Postdoc at Queen’s University (PhD University of Georgia), for “A colonial genealogy of eviction: racialized dispossession in Atlanta and Vancouver” and Ziqi Li, a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (PhD Arizona State University), for “Computational Improvements to Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression.” The Nystrom Award session recording is available to watch in the Annual Meeting program until May 11.
During our virtual annual meeting, we gave a sneak peek of our new website currently in the design process. If you missed the session or weren’t able to attend the conference, you still have a chance to see the recording. Our website agency, Free Range, revealed some of the exciting changes in store for this completely accessible, innovative, and mobile friendly website launching later this spring. Please send us your questions and thoughts at 
The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation is delighted to invite abstracts for our 2021 
The American Geosciences Institute’s Geoscience COVID-19 Impacts study has been extended into a second phase that will continue the longitudinal study through March 2022, thanks to continued support by the National Science Foundation (Award #2029570). The second phase of this study will focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed the way in which geoscientists work and study and how workplace and instructional environments transition into post-pandemic configurations. The study will continue to accept new participants through January 2022 and is open to all geoscientists, including students, retirees, and those not currently employed, who reside in the United States, and are at least 18 years old.
Nancy B. Hultquist, retired Central Washington University (CWU) geography professor, died March 30th, 2021. Nancy is remembered fondly by students, friends, and colleagues. Starting out using computer punch cards, Hultquist eventually moved to using GIS, ultimately introducing countless K-12 teachers to the early iterations of making maps and GIS through NCGE workshops she participated in. She was quick to assist junior faculty and devoted countless hours to helping students find employment, including maintaining a jobs list of employment opportunities across the Pacific Northwest which currently has over 800 subscribers. 
“Data science is the study of data. Data science involves developing methods of recording, storing, and analyzing data to effectively extract useful information. The discipline of geography has always been focused on data science, because geographers have always been keen to gather, analyze, and make sense of large volumes of data across a wide variety of scales and covering a wide variety of themes, from ecoregions to individual census blocks. Those using GIS are spatial data scientists: They combine their data with theoretical foundations such as Tobler’s First Law to explain and predict. As they visualize and analyze data, they detect patterns and relationships, testing real-world phenomena against hypotheses.
Many of us “went” to the AAG annual meeting last month, scheduled to take place in Seattle. Of course, we all attended virtually from separate isolated locations. I attended from my living room, my kitchen table, and my bedroom floor. Though just to insert some sense of the old days, for one committee meeting, I invited one of my University of Oregon colleagues (Alec Murphy) to the “Presidential Suite” (my kitchen table). I mistakenly thought the meeting was scheduled for later in the day and in my email invite, I offered to serve charcuterie and wine. Alec corrected my timing mistake and suggested that 8am might be too early for wine. I’m not so sure.
The late Will Graf would end his AAG President’s columns with this optimistic affirmation: It’s a good day for Geography. Given the last year, you might be surprised to hear that it is just as true today as it was during his tenure in 1998-99. Let me explain.
We are about 3 weeks away from the Annual Meeting! The completely virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, April 7-11, will feature 800+ paper sessions and panels on a wide range of topics as well as 27 poster sessions. Browse the 
The most recent issue of the Annals of the AAG has been published online (
In addition to the most recently published journal, read the latest issue of the other AAG journals online:
The 2023 Special Issue of the Annals invites new and emerging geographic scholarship situated at the crossroads of Race, Nature, and the Environment. In seeking contributions from across the discipline, we welcome submissions that advance critical geographic thinking about race and the environment from diverse perspectives and locations; that utilize a broad array of geographic data, theories, and methods; and that cultivate geographic insights that cut across time, place, and space. Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted by e-mail to 
The AAG is pleased to announce the recipients of the three 2020 AAG Book Awards: the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, the AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, and the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography. The AAG Book Awards mark distinguished and outstanding works published by geography authors during the previous year, 2020. The AAG will confer these awards at a future event to be determined, once the travel and in-person meeting restrictions have been lifted.
Two virtual events are upcoming that may be of interest to AAG members:
The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or teams using satellite or aerial remote sensing that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth (land, oceans and air), educating the next generation of scientists, informing decision makers or supporting natural or human-induced disaster response. Sponsored jointly by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and established in 1974, the award honors the memory of Dr. William T. Pecora, former Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and Under Secretary, Department of the Interior, whose early vision and support helped establish the Landsat satellite program. Nominations for the 2021 awards must be received by the Award Committee by May 14, 2021.
Adam Mandelman, The Place with No Edge: An Intimate History of People, Technology, and the Mississippi River Delta (LSU Press, 2020)
