Newsletter – September 2017
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Moving at Twitter Speed
By Derek Alderman
The title of my column comes from a recent NPR story on the NAACP. The storied civil rights organization is undergoing a wholesale “retooling” of its structures and tactics in an effort to regain relevance among younger generations of activists and to enhance its efficacy in anti-racism advocacy and education. In adapting to a dramatically changing political and media environment, former NAACP president and CEO Cornell Brooks said: “All of us have to be prepared to respond, not with telegraph speed but with Twitter speed.”
Read past columns from the current AAG President on our President’s Column page.
ANNUAL MEETING
Essential Geographies of New Orleans Music
Part 1: Congo Square, Atlantic Exchange, and the Emergence of Jazz.
New Orleans is a city at the historical crossroads of several different cultures: French and Spanish colonials, descendants of the African diaspora, and indigenous Choctaw and Chickasaw peoples. Through this unique blending of religious and ethnic traditions has emerged musical styles that contribute to New Orleans’ sense of place. In the first of a two part series, Case Watkins of James Madison University, explores the development of musical styles in New Orleans, including, of course, Jazz.
New Orleans: Place Portraits
New Orleans’ unofficial “geographer laureate,” Richard Campanella of Tulane’s School of Architecture, provides commentary on the physical features, material culture, and historical geography of New Orleans through this newsletter mini series that will run until the 2018 Annual Meeting. This month, learn more about the sordid history of the New Orleans Slave Trade, the four different land surveying systems found within the city, and the architectural styles New Orleans has used to rebuild itself post-Hurricane Katrina.
- Cityscapes of the New Orleans Slave Trade.
- Four Cadastral Fingerprints on the Louisiana Landscape.
- 14 to 1: Post-Katrina New Orleans Architecture by the Numbers.
“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.
Join Us in New Orleans for #AAG2018
Registration for the 2018 Annual Meeting is now open. The AAG accepts all submitted abstracts for presentation. Paper abstracts must be submitted by October 25, 2017, but may be edited through February 23, 2018. Registration rates increase on November 8, 2018 – register early to get the best rate!
#AAG2018 will overlap with French Quarter Festival, a four-day local music showcase scattered throughout New Orleans’ famous French Quarter. FQF will feature hundreds of hours of free, local music of all varieties, as well as food and drink from New Orleans’ finest restaurants. French Quarter Fest will run from April 12-15, 2018.
See the Annual Meeting website for more information.
How the AAG Selects Its Annual Meeting Venues
From the Meridian: A Column by Doug Richardson
If ever you find yourself at a loss for conversation among a group of geographers, simply ask this one question: Where do you think the AAG should hold its next Annual Meeting? Everyone has an opinion on this question, and embellished memories of past meetings to recount; the only risk of raising this question is that the conversation may well go long into the night. AAG Executive Director, Doug Richardson, explains how selecting AAG Annual Meeting sites is a lengthy and complex process.
Read about the AAG site selection.
Call for Participation: Geography Career Events 2018
The AAG is seeking a diverse range of individuals to help host sessions at the 2018 Annual Meeting related to careers and professional development. Interested individuals can be from private or public sector and employed in government, business, non-profits, or academia. The abstract deadline is October 25, 2017.
NCRGE Welcomes Abstracts for a Special Track During AAG 2018 New Orleans
For the 2018 AAG Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the National Center for Research in Geography Education (NCRGE) is welcoming abstracts and organized session proposals for a special track of sessions on Transformative Research in Geography Education during the AAG Annual Meeting on April 10-14, 2018, in New Orleans. This track aims to raise the visibility of research in geography education, grow the NCRGE research coordination network, and provide productive spaces for discussion about geography education research and the notion of what makes research in the field potentially transformative.
POLICY UPDATE
AAG Statement on Charlottesville Tragedy and White Supremacy
The American Association of Geographers is deeply saddened and disturbed by the recent deadly and violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia. Members of the AAG are encouraged to use their research, teaching, professional practice, community outreach, and channels of public communication to oppose racism and violence and advocate for a constructive national dialogue about white supremacy and race relations in general.
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Undergraduate Student Affinity Group Elects Inaugural Board
Congratulations to the elected members of the first board for the new Undergraduate Student Affinity Group!
USAG Chair: Michelle Church; Michigan State University
USAG Secretary-Treasurer: Lauren Gerlowski; Point Park University
USAG General Board Member: Siobhan Flynn; Rutgers University
USAG General Board Member: Erika Ornouski; California State University, Sacramento
USAG General Board Member: Noah Irby; University of North Dakota
Emily Fekete joins AAG as Communications, Education, and Media Specialist
The AAG welcomes Dr. Emily Fekete as Communications, Education, and Media Specialist. Emily will lend her expertise in communications and media geographies to the communications team through new content curation, social media and program development.
Coline Dony Joins AAG as Senior Geography Researcher
The AAG welcomes Dr. Coline Dony as a Senior Geography Researcher. In her role at the AAG, Coline will be helping to develop GIS coding curricular materials and starting a new AAG initiative, “Coding for Girls in GIS and Geography.”
MEMBER NEWS
August/September 2017 Profiles of Geographers
Each month the AAG profiles a geographer for a glimpse into the careers of working geographers. For August and September, see what attracted geographers Adelle Thomas, Senior Caribbean Research Associate at Climate Analytics; Visiting Researcher, University of the Bahamas, and Frank Boscoe, Research Scientist, New York State Cancer Registry, to the field and the variety of work they do!
Geography Students Show Off their Summer Research
Geography students have been busy this summer with research projects, both on their own and as part of larger research teams. The AAG is celebrating the work of geography students by highlighting their projects on our Instagram page, our newest social media channel. Follow @theAAG to see more student field work!
Students: submit your research photos!
AAG Snapshot: How to Make the Most of your Student Membership
AAG student membership has grown recently with students now representing over 40% of AAG membership. Learn how to use your AAG student membership to the fullest with some tricks from AAG staff member, Candice Luebbering.
Get the most from your membership.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
NSF Seeks Candidates for Division Director of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
The National Science Foundation seeks candidates for division director for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences within the Geography and Spatial Sciences Program starting early 2018. The deadline to apply is September 29, 2017.
PUBLICATIONS
August 2017 Issue of the ‘African Geographical Review’ Now Available
Volume 36, Issue 2 (August 2017) of the African Geographical Review is now available! The African Geographical Review is the journal of the Africa Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. This issue is the second part of a series that explores the shift in development theory from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa since 2015.
September 2017 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ Now Available
Volume 107, Issue 5 (September 2017) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available! Articles spanning the breadth of geography from the four major areas of Methods, Models, and Geographic Information Science; Nature and Society; People, Place, and Region; and Physical Geography and Environmental Sciences are featured in each issue. Access to the journal is included in your AAG membership.
Full article listing available.
New Books in Geography — August 2017
Recent books published in geography and related topics span the discipline from contemporary cities to climate change to capitalism. Some of these new titles will be selected to be reviewed for the AAG Review of Books. Individuals interested in reviewing these or other titles should contact the Editor-in-Chief, Kent Mathewson.
Read the whole list of new books.
Summer 2017 Issue of ‘The AAG Review of Books’ Now Available
Volume 5, Issue 3 of the AAG’s quarterly journal, The AAG Review of Books, is now available online. Since its inception, The AAG Review of Books, has published over 250 reviews of scholarly material. In addition to a quarterly publication, members can search book reviews by author, title, and theme in the new books database.
AAG Releases New Edition of Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas
The newest edition of AAG’s Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas is here! The Guide compiles extensive information about geography departments and programs at universities in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America as well as information about geography employers. Also featured is an interactive map of the programs listed in The Guide.
GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
- Craig E. Colten discusses Hurricane Harvey’s recovery and the lack of flood insurance
- Jonathan Leib comments on local Confederate monuments in Virginia
- Sarah L. Smiley demonstrates how to use ‘The Amazing Race’ to teach geography
IN THE NEWS
Popular stories from the AAG SmartBrief
- Rainfall totals from Harvey prompt changes to weather map
- Mapping viewing locations for the solar eclipse
- Studying Airbnb’s influence on housing costs
- What’s next for Confederate monuments?
- Did urban sprawl play a role in Harvey
EVENTS CALENDAR
- Call for Papers: 24th Annual Critical Geography Conference
- Call for Papers – “Asia and the Anthropocene”
- East Lakes Regional Division Fall Meeting
- Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Regional Division Fall Meeting
Submit News to the AAG Newsletter. To share your news, submit announcements to newsletter [at] aag [dot] org.