Newsletter – August 2021

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Physical Geography and the AAG

By Emily Yeh

[G]eography imagines itself as the hub, with porous boundaries but shared concerns, whether about the relationship between humans and the earth’s surface, about space-time, about scale, or about the manifold human and physical landscapes of the earth…. And yet, I believe that there are some questions we need to ask about the positionality of physical geographers within the discipline, and the role of AAG in serving the needs of all geographers. 

Continue Reading.

PERSPECTIVES

Invisible and Silent No More: The Necessity of Centering Anti-Racism as We Address Inclusion & Access for Disabled Community Members

By Gretchen Sneegas & Arrianna Marie Planey 

We call on AAG to center its work against ableism around disabled geographers of color, especially those racialized as Black, because of how ableism is experienced by, and employed as a weapon against Black people particularly. 

Continue Reading.  

ANNUAL MEETING

New York City to host 2022 AAG Annual Meeting

Mark your calendar for the AAG Annual Meeting in the Big Apple, February 25 – March 1, 2022. The hybrid meeting will take place both online and at the NY Hilton Midtown and the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Registration and the call for papers for #AAG2022 will be announced this summer, and we invite you to organize and participate in sessions, workshops, field trips, special events, and activities. We look forward to seeing you in New York City!

• Stay up to date on the annual meeting

PUBLICATIONS

NEW The Professional Geographer Issue Alert: Articles with topics ranging from relationships between winter weather and traffic to preserving the rural soundscape

The most recent issue of The Professional Geographer has been published online (Volume 73, Issue 3) with 16 new research articles on current geographic research. Topics in this issue include COVID-19 in New York City; Eastern tree species range; local spatial autocorrelation; public art research; research ethics procedures; geodesign; Airbnb; tourism community sustainability; and preservation of nature among tourist areas. Locational areas of interest include Nigeria; Indiana; the Mississippi River Delta; and the Chinese countryside. Authors are from a variety of research institutions including Tel Aviv University; University of Texas at Dallas; and Istanbul Technical University. 

All AAG members have full online access to all issues of The Professional Geographer through the Members Only page. Each issue, the Editors choose one article to make freely available. In this issue you can read COVID-19 Cases and the Built Environment: Initial Evidence from New York City by Calvin P. Tribby & Chris Hartmann for free for the next 3 months. 

Questions about The Professional Geographer? Contact PG [at] aag [dot] org 

NEW Summer Issue of The AAG Review of Books Published

The latest issue of The AAG Review of Books is now available (Volume 9, Issue 3) with twelve book reviews, and one book review essay on recent books related to geography, urbanization, tourism, animal trafficking and more. The Summer 2021 issue also holds one book review forum: Cloud Ethics: Algorithms and the Attributes of Ourselves and Others by Louise Amoore, reviewed by Andrew C. Dwyer, Nathaniel O’Grady, Pip Thornton, Till Straube, Emily Gilbert, and Louise Amoore.  

Questions about The AAG Review of Books? Contact aagreview [at] aag [dot] org. 

In addition to the most recently published journal, read the latest issue of the other AAG journals online:

• Annals of the American Association of Geographers
• The Professional Geographer
• GeoHumanities
• The AAG Review of Books

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Location-Based Tech and Social Justice – AAG Geoethics Symposium

The American Association of Geographers, in partnership with the Center for Spatial Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara and with support from Esri, has launched a series of webinars on key considerations for GeoEthics. The next webinar is a half-day symposium, Emerging Location-based Services and Technologies, August 11 from 9:30 am – 12:45 pm Australian Eastern Time (Aug 10 in the Western Hemisphere). Bringing together more than a dozen presenters with expertise in many disciplines, the symposium examines the socioethical implications and impacts of location-based technologies, including body-based and wearable technologies. The morning will culminate in a discussion of how to create an ethical framework to address these technologies’ implications.  

The webinar follows 30 minutes after the Public Interest Technology (PIT) Colloquium Series from the Society Policy Engineering Collective (SPEC) at Arizona State University (ASU) and IEEE SSIT Students at 2:30 pm Arizona Time. Detailed bios and information for participants is at this link. Register for this special separate event at this link.  

Geographers do their research at a distance, build their toolkits… and find community

By definition, geographers study such a variety of places and spaces. Some choose to do their research about geographies near their university, and others are drawn to distant geographies. These choices were seriously challenged or derailed during the 2020-2021 academic year, which coincided with the rise of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Task Force’s Methods Training program, which helped alleviate graduate student challenges, has been renewed for another year, with new ways for AAG members to get involved.

Learn more about getting involved.  

AAG Early Career and Department Leadership Webinar Series Continues in Fall 2021

The Early Career and Department Leadership webinar series, launched in fall 2020 as part of the AAG’s COVID-19 Rapid Response initiatives, also represents a broader effort at the AAG to expand year-round programming for members and the wider geography community. The AAG is pleased to announce that the webinar series will continue in the 2021-2022 academic year.  

Find out more about the webinar series.  

Save the Date for AAG Regions Connect

This fall will be a great time to reconnect with colleagues, both in your regions and beyond. For the first time, AAG and the Applied Geography Conference are collaborating with six of our Regional Divisions to create a carbon-sensitive meeting model with AAG Regions Connect: A Joint Climate-Forward Initiative. Happening Oct 14-16, Regions Connect advances the vision of the AAG Climate Action Task Force, combing in-person local gathering with nationally available online events, including new offerings for career and professional development and regional perspectives on international and national issues. Registration will open in mid-August. 

Check out our Events page for information on Regions Connect and other Regional Division events this fall. 

Nominate Colleagues for AAG Honors and AAG Fellows

Please consider nominating outstanding colleagues for the AAG Honors, the highest awards offered by the American Association of Geographers, and the AAG Fellows, a program recognizing both later-career and early/mid-career geographers who have made significant contributions to advancing geography. Individual AAG members, specialty groups, affinity groups, departments, and other interested parties are encouraged to nominate outstanding colleagues following the newly revised submission guidelines. Deadlines for nominations will be September 15th.

More information about AAG Honors  and AAG Fellows.

Nominate Inspiring Geographers: September Awards Deadlines

AAG Grants and Awards make a huge impact on our community of Geographers and help maintain the legacy of geographers of the past while paying tribute to geographers thriving right now. Deadlines are already approaching starting in September. Don’t miss your opportunity to apply or nominate someone deserving! Learn more about the following grants and awards before their due dates:
Sept. 15: AAG Enhancing Diversity Award and AAG Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Award

Sept. 22: AAG Nystrom Award for Recent Dissertations

Sept. 30: AAG Program Excellence Award – masters-granting programs

Nominations Sought for AAG Council Positions

The AAG Nominating Committee seeks nominations for Vice President (one to be elected) for National Councilor (two vacancies), and for Student Councilor (one vacancy) for the 2022 election. The AAG encourages nominations of a broad range of colleagues who reflect different disciplinary specialties, regional locations, gender, race, ethnicity, diverse ability, stage in career, etc. Those elected will take office on July 1, 2022. AAG members should submit the names and addresses of each nominee and their reasons for supporting nomination to any member of the AAG Nominating Committee no later than September 24, 2021. As part of your nomination statement, please confirm that the person is willing to be considered for the position for which you are recommending them. Nominations by email are strongly preferred.

Please send nominations or questions regarding these positions to the AAG Nominating Committee: Kathleen Sherman-Morris (Chair), John Harrington, Jr., and Helga Leitner. 

POLICY CORNER

AAG to Host 2021 Redistricting Panel Series in September

After 10 years with our country’s current congressional and state district maps, the time has come to redraw the lines through the process of redistricting. States alone have the power to redraw legislative districts using decennial census data. This undertaking is inherently geographic, and yet geographers are sorely lacking from the process at every level. Because each state has a different process for redrawing their maps, identifying a chance to get involved can be tough for anyone to navigate, let alone professional and academic geographers pressed for time.  

That’s why the AAG is launching our virtual Redistricting Panel Series this September, to equip geographers with the tools and knowledge to take action in their states as the maps are drawn. By activating our collective power as a community and pressing to have a geographer in the room in every state, we can set new expectations this year and show why geospatial thinkers are indispensable.  

The AAG’s virtual Redistricting Panel Series is centered around one key word — “action.” Geographers will walk away from these panels with the state specific background, process knowledge, and the grassroots organization connections needed to step up and get involved. Click here to learn more and check back in later for state-specific panel dates and registration information. 

In the News:

• In June 2021, the House and Senate advanced separate versions of legislation to enhance U.S. innovation and global competitiveness. The approaches taken by the two bills, however, differ dramatically. The Senate bill focuses squarely on ways to harness and in some cases alter the nation’s scientific assets to better compete with China. The House bill, on the other hand, doubles down on the nation’s existing, proven scientific leadership and proposes additional investments to push the U.S. research enterprise—particularly the National Science Foundation—into new directions. Click here to read an in-depth analysis from our colleagues at COSSA. 

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

New Podcast Focusing on Black Geographies

1919 is a Black organizing and media collective based in Canada, which publishes a print magazine and operates a multimedia platform for interdisciplinary cultural production, political education, and internationalist solidarity and imagination. 1919 launched its 4-part Black Geographies Podcast Series, which brings together four authors in the emerging field of Black Geographies to discuss the multiple spatial dimensions of Blackness, and bring radical ideas of race, space, and the politics of place out of academia and into the community and streets through an engaging and accessible medium. All four episodes are now available online at the 1919 SoundCloud, on Spotify, and Apple Music. 

National Humanities Center Fellowships – Call for Applications

The National Humanities Center invites applications for academic-year or one-semester residential fellowships. Mid-career, senior, and emerging scholars from all parts of the globe and who have a strong record of peer-reviewed work from any area of the humanities are encouraged to apply. Fellowship applicants must have a PhD or equivalent scholarly credentials. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT, October 7, 2021. More information can be found here: https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/become-a-fellow/.  

2021 American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowships

The American Institute of Indian Studies announces its 2021 fellowship competition and invites applications from scholars who wish to conduct their research in India. Junior fellowships are awarded to Ph.D. candidates to conduct research for their dissertations in India for up to eleven months. Senior fellowships are awarded to scholars who hold the Ph.D. degree for up to nine months of research in India. The application deadline is November 15, 2021. The application can be accessed from the web site www.indiastudies.org. For more information please contact the American Institute of Indian Studies by telephone at (773) 702-8638 or by email at aiis [at] uchicago [dot] edu.

GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS

• This 2050 Earth map is an ominous glimpse of our future SlashGear, July 14, 2021. Clark University and Esri compiled satellite data and vulnerability models to develop interactive maps showing the effects of climate change from 2018 to 2050.   
• Using Maps to Empower Indigenous Communities Outside, July 12, 2021. Indigenous activists, geographers, and outdoor enthusiasts are working on a variety of projects to undo colonial cartographies while educating people on colonization’s violent history. These projects work to make stolen indigenous land and outdoor spaces more welcoming to indigenous communities themselves through utilizing GIS tools, ultimately changing the relationship between people and the land they stand upon. 
• Extreme heat is killing people in Arizona’s mobile homes The Washington Post, July 4, 2021. Geographers Patricia Solis of Arizona State University and Margaret Wilder and Mark Kear of the University of Arizona are collaborating on research in the heat vulnerability of mobile homes.

EVENTS CALENDAR

• August 9, 2021, 4:00-5:15 PM CT: Building Effective Regions for COVID-19 Policy Administration from Networks of Human Movement and Social Ties 
• August 11, 2021, 9:30 AM-12:45 PM AEST: Emerging Location-based Services and Technologies, GeoSurveillance and Social Justice Issues 
• August 23, 2021, 4:00-5:15 PM CT: Working with Students to Reproduce COVID-19 Research to Establish the Credibility of Findings and Accelerate Policymaker Adoption 
• August 26, 2021, 3:00-4:15 PM ET: Careers in Geography (Part II): Geographers in Business, Government, and Nonprofit Careers 
• September 10, 2021: The Future of the AAG Learning Series all day virtual event