Newsletter – May 2022
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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Do Look Up
By Emily Yeh
In a recent review of Don’t Look Up, the terrifyingly close-to-home satire of collective inaction on global warming, Pablo Ortiz of the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that one form of “looking up” is to write and share about how climate change is affecting you, as a means of building a larger movement… taking Ortiz’s advice, I begin here by briefly describing one way climate change is affecting the place I live.
ANNUAL MEETING
Save the Date for AAG 2023 in Denver
Join us for the Mile-High meeting. Mark your calendar for the hybrid AAG Annual Meeting in Denver, CO on March 23-27, 2023. We invite you to organize and participate in sessions, workshops, field trips, special events, and activities. Look for more information throughout the summer to help you plan. We look forward to seeing you online and in the Rocky Mountains.
PUBLICATIONS
NEW Annals of the American Association of Geographers Issue Alert: The 2022 Special Issue of the Annals on Displacements
The Annals publishes a special issue each year to highlight research around a specific theme of global importance. The fourteenth annual special issue contains 26 articles on the topic of Displacements and is guest edited by Kendra Strauss. The articles are divided into five sections: Theorizing Displacements; Understanding Experiences of Displacement: Concepts, Methodologies, and Data; Urbanization and Infrastructures; Bringing in the State; and Politics and Praxis. The 2022 Special Issue on “Displacements” explores how, building on our history of critical engagement with place, geographers from across the discipline can contribute empirical, theoretical, and methodological insights on displacements and their implications. Contributions addressing displacements through multi- and -inter-disciplinary engagements with geographical theory and methods are from a broad range of perspectives, locations, and historical and contemporary contexts.
All AAG members have full online access to all issues of the Annals through the Journals section of the AAG Member Dashboard. Read more about the Annals Special Issue here.
Questions about the Annals? Contact annals@aag.org.
NEW The Professional Geographer Issue Alert: Articles with topics ranging from pedestrian access to K-12 schools to Finnish sauna diplomacy
The latest issue of The Professional Geographer is now available (Vol 74, Issue 2) with 10 new research articles plus a six article focus on The Geographies of Crime and Policing in the Global Countryside. Article topics include representation in U.S. geography departments; COVID-19 urban recovery; export dynamics; The Key Cultural Relics Protection Sites in China; rural organized crime; animal rights activism; household security; and nature vandalism. Study areas include San Francisco; Shanghai; and Raipur. Authors are from a variety of global institutions including: University of Oklahoma; University of Haifa; National University of Singapore; and Uppsala University.
All AAG members have full online access to all issues of The Professional Geographer through their member dashboard. Each issue, the editors choose one article to make freely available. In this issue you can read Ellis Act Eviction Notices in San Francisco: “Absolute” and “Relative” Clusteringby Matthew R. Lehnerta and Seth Alan Williams for free.
Questions about The Professional Geographer? Contact profgeog@aag.org.
NEW Issue of The AAG Review of Books Published
The latest issue of The AAG Review of Books is now available (Volume 10, Issue 2) with 7 book reviews on recent books related to geography, public policy and international affairs. The new issue also includes a film review of the documentary Holding Tightly: Custom and Healing in Timor-Leste and two book review fora. 2022 marks the ten-year anniversary of The AAG Review of Books and this issue includes a special look back on the journal from current editor Debbie Hopkins.
Questions about The AAG Review of Books? Contact aagreview@aag.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
• African Geographical Review
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Support the AAG Student Travel Fund — Make a Difference in the Life of a Young Geographer
One of AAG’s top fund-raising priorities for 2022 will be the AAG Student Travel Fund. We will launch this fund-raising effort in the coming days via email.
As we all realize, nothing can take the place of the meeting experience. It’s so valuable to presenting your research, networking, and connecting with colleagues. With the pandemic behind us, and the annual meeting now transformed into a hybrid (in-person with some virtual presenters) and virtual experience, we need to support our students. They have patiently waited to return to the new normal and now are faced with rising travel costs and diminished conference budgets that may make attending the 2023 AAG Annual Meeting challenging.
Our goal is to support at least 100 students and to offer enrichment awards of up to $500 to support their travel and/or participation as a hybrid or virtual attendee. We look forward to your support during 2022.
Have Your Department or Program Featured in Recruitment Video
Last fall, AAG worked with Green Jay Strategies to produce the “World of Possibilities” video, designed to be used to recruit students into geography programs. Many programs took advantage of our offer to customize the video with your logo and contact information, so we are extending that offer again this year. To see an example of how your information will be featured in the video, please check out this example.
Getting your customized copy is especially valuable this year, as AAG’s 2022 Geography Awareness Week theme will be tied to the video. If you would like to get a version featuring information for your program, please send an email to helloworld@aag.org and include your approved logo, department/program name, contact person, contact website, contact email, and contact phone number. Please also include the email address where you would like the final video sent.
Please submit all requests by May 20. The final video will be emailed back to you in early June.
The video is aimed at students who are early in their process of discovering a geography degree and considers the research of Dr. Justin Stoler (University of Miami) on the understanding and preferences of undergraduate students. We would like to again thank AAG members Dr. Debarchana Ghosh, Dr. Deborah Thomas, Dr. Jacqueline Housel, Dr. Jason Post, Dr. Justin Stoler, and Dr. Wan Yu for their roles in helping shape this video and the AAG COVID-19 Response subcommittee for proposing this project.
Spots Available in AAG’s New Expanded Professional Development Webinar Series
Have you signed up for one of our Professional Development Webinar Series yet? Whether you’re a student, recent graduate, job seeker, department head, or a career geography professional, AAG has an event that is right for you.
Our coming webinars include:
Translating Geography Degrees into Environmental, Conservation, and Sustainability Work. Hear from geographers who have successfully utilized their degrees to launch careers in these sought-after fields.
Building Impact and Engagement into Your Early Academic Career. Explore ways geographers are influencing policy and aiding social movements.
No GIS? No Problem! Opportunities for Geographers with Little or No GIS Skills. Hear from geographers carving out career paths with a focal point outside of GIS or GIS-related experience.
Registration Open for Summer Series for Grad Students and Recent Graduates
The AAG 2022 Virtual Summer Series is back. Sign-ups are open for our Graduate Forums and Seminars, which will continue throughout the summer.
Our Graduate Forums are led by the AAG Graduate Student Affinity Group and will offer graduate students with sessions that enable them to network and feel a sense of community.
Our Seminars target Master’s or Doctoral students in Geography programs and recently graduated geographers, and cover a wide range of practical topics.
Take Part in the AAG’s Graduate Faculty Development Alliance Workshops, June 13-17
Two summer professional development workshops from the AAG’s Graduate Faculty Development Alliance will continue online in 2022. Registration will be filled on a first come, first served basis and is free for AAG Members and $150 for non-members.
Department Chairs, Heads, new Deans, and other emerging leaders — develop the tools you need to do your job, network with peers, and learn from top leadership professionals in an inclusive, innovative, and interactive series.
The AAG Geography Faculty Development Alliance for early career geographers, as well as non-AAG members who are graduate students or teaching geography in higher education, offers an innovative, new online approach to the highly successful early career workshops that have been offered since 2002.
Registration will open on May 5, 2022.
Member News
May Member Updates
Dr. Andrew Sluyter, Professor of Geography at Louisiana State University, has received a highly prestigious 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. The foundation awarded 28 fellowships from 300 extraordinary scholars nominated by the leaders of select universities and other preeminent institutions. Each fellow receives $200,000 over two years to support visionary scholarship on important and enduring issues confronting our society.
Two geographers have been named to the 2022 class of Guggenheim Fellows. Karen Bakker, a Professor in the Department of Geography at The University of British Columbia, is the producer of “Water Teachings” an edited volume exploring perspectives on Indigenous water law, bringing together voices of Indigenous scholars and community members from across Canada. Geoff Mann, Professor of Geography and Director of the Centre for Global Political Economy at Simon Fraser University, has an interest in all aspects of politics and the political economy of capitalism. Read more.
Dr. Mandy Munro-Stasiuk has been appointed as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University. Munro-Stasiuk is the first women to hold the position. With degrees in geography, archaeology, and earth and atmospheric sciences as well as research experience in geomorphology and genocide, Munro-Stasiuk believes her background uniquely positions her to understand the needs of the college’s departments in humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The announcement was made during Women’s History Month. Read more.
Dr. Farhana Sultana has been promoted to Full Professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. This promotion marks the first time a woman of color has been promoted to Full Professor in the department’s 80-year history and the second time any woman has reach this rank.
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Virtual Launch of You Are Here’s 2022 Issue: Queer Ecologies!
Participate in the virtual launch of the 2022 issue of you are here: the journal of creative geography. yah is a graduate student-run journal housed at the University of Arizona that explores intersection of art and geography. On May 27th at 11am Pacific Time, yah will be gathering on zoom to celebrate the new issue: queer ecologies! Contributors from the issue will be sharing their poetry, visual art, performance, films, etc., and more generally musing on the topics of queer ecologies and creative geographies. For sneak peeks at the issue, follow us at @youarehereUA on Instagram and Twitter.
Register for the virtual launch here
Kauffman Foundation 2022 Central Standards RFP and 2021 Indicators of Early-Stage Entrepreneurship Report Released, Upcoming Events
The Kauffman Foundation’s 2022 Central Standards Request for Proposals (RFP) is open for applications. The RFP focuses on supporting entrepreneurship support organizations in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, providing funds to encourage and accelerate collaborations between two or more entrepreneurship support organizations working together. Proposals will be accepted until May 20. Learn more about the 2022 Central Standards RFP here.
The recently released 2021 Kauffman Indicators of Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) national report highlights data from the past year, providing a look at trends surrounding the rate of new entrepreneurship and the opportunity share of new entrepreneurs. Download the report to learn more about the latest data, including statistics on specific demographic groups.
The next virtual Early-Stage Researcher Professional Development session will take place on Friday, May 20 at 1 p.m. CT with mentor Jerome Katz at Saint Louis University. This session is open to 25 early-stage researchers. Register for Professional Development Series
May 26th 10 AM CT is the next Entrepreneurship Issues forum: Gig Work and Entrepreneurship. Gig work has received increasing attention in recent years, particularly with the rise of digital platforms. From Uber drivers to Upwork’s “independent professionals,” there is no shortage of platforms enabling individuals and businesses to get services and talent on demand. What does the proliferation of digital platforms — and gig work more broadly — mean for entrepreneurship? This forum will explore the landscape of gig work in the U.S., the various types of gig work people engage in, the relationship between gig work and entrepreneurship, and what this all means for policy and practice. Register now
Call for Participants – Research Study on Scholarly Activity
Tenured/tenure-track faculty members at U.S. college or university, are invited to participate in an online survey about how your research is evaluated by other faculty in your department. Your participation will help to better understand how research evaluation experiences vary by academic field, research area, and researcher demographics, and how these experiences affect faculty career outcomes.
The survey will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete and you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card for your participation.
If you are willing to participate, please start by complete a brief 1 – 2 min screening survey to determine if you are eligible to participate.
In Memoriam
J. Ronald Eyton passed away on March 14, 2022. His death, in a hospital in Vancouver, BC, following a sudden illness was unexpected. After a variety of academic appointments at the Assistant (University of Illinois, University of South Carolina) and Associate (Penn State University, University of Alberta) Professor level, Ron moved to Texas State University in 1995. Ron was an important member of the Geography team which resulted in the Department of Geography being awarded the first doctoral program at Texas State University. Read more.
Dr. Lynn Usery passed from this earthly plane on March 22, 2022 following a brief illness. He will be sorely missed by the geography community, not only for his many research contributions, leadership and vision, and tireless service, but also for his friendship and camaraderie. Michael Tischler of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wrote, “On paper, we knew him as the Director of the Center of Excellence for Geographic Information Science [CEGIS]. But he was far more than that title would lead one to believe. Lynn leaves a remarkable legacy given his extraordinary scientific accomplishments, presence as a leader in the geographic science community, and impact on individual geographic scientists inside USGS and around the world.” Read more.
Dr. William B. Kory, professor emeritus of geography at the University of Pittsburgh–Johnstown, passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2022 in his Florida home. Dr. Kory was unrelentingly committed to his students’ success at Pitt-Johnstown. When the Department of Geography in Pittsburgh disbanded like so many others during the 1980s, Dr. Kory reestablished the University’s undergraduate major in Johnstown. He was also an active member of the Pennsylvania Geographical Society and devoted significant time to editorial duties at The Pennsylvania Geographer. Read more.
Featured Articles
The Mapmaker’s Mantra
By Aileen Buckley, Allen Carroll, and Clint Brown
Maps are widely regarded as objective and authoritative sources of information. Over the past decade, news and other information sources have often been distorted on social media, eroding their authority. It’s our hope that we can help avoid a similar erosion of cartographic credibility by drafting this “Mapmaker’s Mantra.”
The Mantra is not a code of ethics for cartography. It focuses solely on mapmaking, not the many other facets of cartography. It aims at the making of maps that convey authoritative information, not maps for advertisements, propaganda, and the like. Its goal is to preserve the authority of maps by reminding the mapmaking community of their ethical and moral responsibility to tell the truth with maps.
GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
- Incoming AAG President and director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Marilyn Raphael discussed her commitment to act on climate change, from local to global scale.
- In “Russia’s colonial legacy and the war in Ukraine,” social geographer Alastair Bonnett’s explains how Russia’s “colonization by absorption” created the roots of its war on Ukraine.
- The New Captain of the Endurance Shipwreck Is an Anemone Marine biogeographer Huw Griffiths sees a wide variety of animals on the shipwrecked Endurance, including anemones and crabs (a recent discovery in the Antarctic region, possibly here due to climate change).
- A lot of what USAID does relies on geographer Carrie Stokes, chief geographer.
EVENTS CALENDAR
- May 20, 2022, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET: Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis Forum 2022: The Uneven Geography of Climate Change
- June 5-9, 2022 – 2022 Symposium on Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate
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