PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

On Finding One’s Voice (and the Voices of Others)

By Derek Alderman

Derek AldermanI am pleased to announce that the American Association of Geographers (AAG) is launching the Geography Speakers Bureau. The Bureau is part of the Geography is REAL initiative and builds upon the AAG’s long-time commitment to public outreach, informed and timely communication, and lending geographic research and education to addressing pressing issues and debates. The purpose of this column is to outline the rationale ad organization of the Speakers Bureau and encourage geographers to participate as well as address the resonance and efficacy of their voices as education and advocacy tools. While the Bureau creates a setting for increased speaking, it is also an opportunity for geographers to engage in greater listening and dialogue—both within the discipline and with a broad array of public groups.

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Read past columns from the current AAG President on our President’s Column page.

ANNUAL MEETING

A Glance at New Orleans’ Contemporary Hispanic and Latino Communities

The geographic situation of New Orleans allowed the city to develop lasting ties to the Hispanic and Latino cultures south of the U.S. border. Post-Hurricane Katrina has led to both the revival of these historic connections as well as the development of new communities as migrants initially came in response to rebuilding efforts. Geographer James Chaney of Middle Tennessee State University provides a look at the modern ethnoscape in the changing urban landscape of New Orleans

Read the full story.

New Orleans: Place Portraits

Though New Orleans is renowned for being below sea level, did you know that the city spent much of its early years above sea level? The early years of New Orleans was also the start to developing New Orleans’ multiethnic identity. The Creolization of culture in New Orleans is present today in its people and its architecture styles. In this month’s Place Portraits New Orleans’ unofficial “geographer laureate,” Richard Campanella of Tulane’s School of Architecture, explores the Creole heritage and physical landscape of the Crescent City in an effort to prepare AAG members for the 2018 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Read Campanella’s pieces below:

“Focus on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast” is an ongoing series curated by the Local Arrangements Committee to provide insight on and understanding of the geographies of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the greater Gulf Coast region.

AAG Announces 2018 Annual Meeting Themes

Each year, the AAG Council and Executive Director identify theme areas of geography for the annual meeting in order to provide a fresh take on some of the more pressing and timely issues facing the discipline. While any topic is accepted for presentation at the Annual Meeting, the themes are used to establish a way to focus the breadth and variety of geographic scholarship the Annual Meeting has to offer. This years themes are: Black Geographies; Hazards, Geography, and GIScience; and Public Engagement.

Find out more about each theme.

New Features of the Abstract and Session System

The AAG has recently updated several of its online platforms related to the Annual Meeting. Perhaps the most exciting update of all is the new and improved abstract and session submission console. Beyond its appearance, the new system has several new features that we hope will a) simplify the submission process and b) help attendees make the most of their experience in New Orleans.

Learn more about these new features.

CAMP AAG Coming to AAG 2018 New Orleans

The AAG is pleased to announce that it is continuing full-time, professionally managed and staffed onsite childcare services for the 2018 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. CAMP AAG will offer age-appropriate activities for children ranging from 6 months to 12 years of age (separated into age-appropriate groups) including curriculum-enriched, hands-on, creative activities, arts & crafts projects, active games, and more.

See more information about CAMP AAG.

POLICY UPDATE

AAG Writes Letter Pushing for DACA Permanency 

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The AAG sent a letter to Congress urging them to quickly enact legislation that would make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program permanent. Twenty-two other institutions or universities signed the AAG’s statement in support.

Read the letter.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

AAG Welcomes Three Fall Interns!

Three interns have begun their work at the AAG headquarters in D.C. for the 2017 Fall semester.

Tolu Ajayi will be interning at the AAG while finishing the last semester of the B.S. in Geographical Sciences at University of Maryland, College Park.

Shane Colgan recently completed his B.S. in Geographical Sciences at University of Maryland, College Park. He will be interning at the AAG this Fall with plans to start his masters in GIS at University of Maryland, College Park this Spring.

Charles Christonikos is interning at AAG while also currently a senior at The George Washington University, pursuing a B.A. in Geography with minors in GIS and Criminal Justice.

MEMBER NEWS

October 2017 Profiles of Geographers

Geographers like Lisa Brownell, the Program Manager of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit at the Ohio Development Services Agency, and Marcello Graziano, an Assistant Professor in Department of Geography at Central Michigan University, think job outlook for geographers is good! Read about their journeys in the geographic discipline, the types of geographic skills they use every day on the job, and their advice to future geographers in this month’s Profiles of Professional Geographers spotlight.

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Maya Peoples Making History Conference

AAG Vice President, Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, recently presented at the Maya Peoples Making History conference held at The Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. Her research, which focuses on the use of LiDAR for reconstructing the environmental history of the Maya people in Belize, was one of four presentations held during the event.

Read more about the event.

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Students – October 15th Deadline for Two Student Awards

October 15th is the deadline for applications to two annual awards presented by the AAG and supported by the Marble Fund for Geographic Sciences. The Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Awards aim to recognize excellence in academic performance by undergraduate students from the U.S. and Canada who are putting forth a strong effort to bridge geographic science and computer science. The biennial William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography supports innovative research into the computational aspects of geographic science. Formal presentation of the awards will be made at the annual AAG awards luncheon.

See all upcoming award deadlines.

Nominations Sought for the Harold M. Rose Award

The Harold M. Rose Award for Anti-Racism Research and Practice honors Dr. Rose, the first Black president of the AAG. Dr. Rose devoted his career to expanding the discipline of geography into anti-racist scholarship, an area that had been virtually ignored, by conducting research on the black Ghetto, blacks and Cubans in Miami, and the quality of life in black communities during the 1960s and 1970s. This award honors geographers who have a demonstrated record of the type of research and active contributions to society that have marked Harold Rose’s career. The nomination deadline is October 15th.

More information about the nomination process available.

Community College Travel Grants – Deadline to Apply November 1st

Students currently enrolled at a US community college, junior college, city college, or similar two-year educational institution are eligible to apply for a Community College Travel Grant to attend the 2018 AAG Annual Meeting. These travel funds are generously provided by Darrel Hess and Robert and Bobbé Christopherson and consists of meeting registration, one year membership in the AAG, and a travel expense subsidy of $500 to be used to defray the costs of attending the AAG Annual Meeting. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2017.

Full details about the application process.

PUBLICATIONS

November Issue of The Professional Geographer now available!

The Professional Geographer Cover Flat

The November 2017 (Volume 69, Issue 4) issue of The Professional Geographer is now available online! This issue features two themed sections – the 2016 AAG Nystrom Paper Competition participant papers and a focus on gender and the histories of geography as a discipline – in addition to a regular selection of manuscripts.

See the Table of Contents.

Just Published! The November 2017 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’  

Annals-of-the-AAG-cover-flat

Volume 107, Issue 6 (November 2017) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available! All articles are available to members with your AAG membership. This month, articles span the breadth of topics from oil pipeline activism to extreme precipitation frequency to young people and everyday foods.

Full article listing available.

ADDENDA

The Economist cites article printed in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers authored by Qiang et al. on the growth in exposure to flood hazards faced by U.S. residents.

Read The Economist article on Hurricane Irma.

GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
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