AAG Newsletter

January 2020 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ Now Available

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 110, Issue 1 (January 2020) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available. A full list of contents is below.…

Going Local or How the AAG Can Help Enhance its Regional Divisions

The region is one of geography’s main concepts and, true to these roots, regional divisions—mostly within the United States but many including Canadian provinces—developed as an intrinsic part of the…

November 2019 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ Now Available

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 109, Issue 6 (November 2019) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now ;A full list of contents is below.…

President's Column

Going Local or How the AAG Can Help Enhance its Regional Divisions

David H. KaplanDecember 2, 20192019-12-02T11:23:33-05:00

Finding your Parachute or The PhD is Not Just for Academics

David H. Kaplan November 1, 2019 Comments Off2019-12-02T16:52:08-05:00

Graduate students are haunted by the specter of future job uncertainty. Many Master’s students wonder what they will do with their degree. For PhD students, the period between becoming ABD and completing the dissertation elicits…

A Golden Opportunity for Geography or How Can We Harness the Growth in AP Human Geography?

David H. Kaplan September 30, 2019 Comments Off2019-11-08T13:55:03-05:00

I am from a generation when high school classes (at least in my urban public school) were not terribly challenging. This was through no fault of the teachers, who had to contend with a broad…

Call for chapter proposals: New AAG Book on Rocky Mountain West

Staff September 26, 2019 Comments Off2019-09-26T16:57:42-05:00

One of the most anticipated items when I began attending AAG meetings was the annual edited book that came in our packet. This would be a special volume dedicated to the city and region where…

The Mental Health Challenge or Relieving Anxiety and Depression for Students and Faculty

David H. Kaplan August 31, 2019 Comments Off2019-10-01T15:46:28-05:00

About 18 years ago, one of my Masters students calmly mentioned that she had been undergoing a tremendous amount of anxiety, and had seen a doctor about it. I was floored! This particular student exemplified…

Annual Meeting

Introducing the “Climate Action Task Force”

Patricia M. Martin and Joseph NevinsOctober 28, 20192019-12-02T17:00:43-05:00

In response to the current climate crisis, last spring we circulated a petition among various geography listservs requesting that the AAG Council take significant action “to reduce CO2 emissions related to the Annual Meeting.” The…

Social Media at #aagDC

Emily Fekete March 19, 2019 Comments Off2019-03-19T11:14:27-05:00

We’re getting closer to the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting! Whether you will be attending the meeting all week, for a few days, or looking to follow the action from afar, there are plenty of ways…

The Chesapeake Bay: Destruction and Rehabilitation in the Nation’s Largest Estuary

RDK Herman December 1, 2018 Comments Off2019-04-23T09:44:54-05:00

It’s another drizzly day on the Chesapeake, and the boat we are on bobs gently on the opaque, mud-colored water. A crusty old crabber from Tangier Island, by the nickname of Captain Cook (use of…

AAG Names Rita Colwell as the 2019 Honorary Geographer

Emily Fekete November 14, 2018 Comments Off2018-11-14T11:03:16-05:00

Rita Colwell (Photo by Sam Kittner) The American Association of Geographers has named Rita Colwell, the first woman to be director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), as its 2019 AAG Honorary Geographer. Rita Colwell…

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center

Catherine W. Cooper November 1, 2018 Comments Off2018-12-05T17:57:57-05:00

“I never ran my train off track and I never lost a passenger.” Harriet Tubman was fond of saying this in her later years, but during the 1850s when she was actively escorting enslaved people…

Association News

Regional Divisions Announce Outstanding Graduate Student Papers During their Fall Meetings

StaffDecember 3, 20192019-12-03T11:55:12-05:00

The AAG is proud to announce the Fall 2019 student winners of the AAG Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper at a Regional Meeting. The AAG Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper at…

AAG Holds Workshops on Student Recruitment at Regional Division Meetings

Coline Dony, Emily Fekete, Mark Revell December 2, 2019 Comments Off2019-12-02T14:10:09-05:00

AAG President David Kaplan recently outlined the need among geography programs to actively recruit students and to develop further community connections to AP Human Geography teachers. Geography faculty and chairs at colleges and universities, however,…

AAG is Proud to Announce the 2020 AAG Honors

Staff December 2, 2019 Comments Off2019-12-02T09:34:45-05:00

Each year, the AAG invites nominations for AAG Honors to be conferred in recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement or welfare of the profession. The AAG Honors Committee is charged with making award recommendations for each category,…

AAG Announces 2020 Class of AAG Fellows

Staff November 14, 2019 Comments Off2019-11-21T11:20:36-05:00

The AAG Fellows is a program, started in 2018, to recognize geographers who have made significant contributions to advancing geography. In addition to honoring geographers, AAG Fellows will serve the AAG as an august body…

AAG Welcomes Fall 2019 Intern

Staff September 25, 2019 Comments Off2019-09-25T15:40:28-05:00

A new intern has joined the AAG staff this fall semester! The AAG would like to welcome Gavin to the organization. Gavin Derleth is a Senior at The George Washington University, pursuing a in Geography…

Featured Articles

The Geography of Access to Health Services

Estella M. GeraghtyAugust 2, 20192019-08-02T09:44:50-05:00

According to a 1993 Institute of Medicine report, access to health services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best health outcomes." Geographic access is listed as one of three distinct components…

Beyond Compactness: A New Measure to Evaluate Congressional Districts

Diana C. Lavery May 2, 2019 Comments Off2019-05-02T16:08:38-05:00

Redrawing congressional district boundaries, an activity that happens every ten years following the decennial census, may be the most consequential application of geography in the United States. As congressional elections have become less competitive, many…

AI and GIS: Finally Delivering on the promise

Esri Staff March 28, 2019 Comments Off2019-03-28T13:06:35-05:00

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) isn't new, and neither are its grand promises. AI as an academic pursuit has its roots in the 1950s. Early AI researchers were filled with optimism, but—despite some initial…

Rights of Nature: The New Paradigm

Cameron La Follette March 6, 2019 Comments Off2019-03-06T09:24:02-05:00

Rights of Nature is a short-hand term for a form of ecological governance that both provides for and prioritizes Nature’s right to flourish. It also provides for various subsidiary rights, such as the right to…

Deoxygenation of the Ocean Affects Everyone, So Act Now

Dawn J. Wright, Sylvia A. Earle February 26, 2019 Comments Off2019-02-27T11:46:41-05:00

By Dawn J. Wright, Esri, and Sylvia A. Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Did you know that more than half of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean? This oxygen is produced in large part…

Resources & Opportunities

AAG Holds Workshops on Student Recruitment at Regional Division Meetings

Coline Dony, Emily Fekete, Mark RevellDecember 2, 20192019-12-02T14:10:09-05:00

Get Involved in Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day

Staff October 30, 2019 Comments Off2019-10-30T11:00:26-05:00

Geography Awareness Week is quickly approaching, November 10th - 16th, with GIS Day on November 13th. Below you’ll find GeoWeek and GIS Day resources, announcements, and ways to get involved, big and small. Do what…

Taking Steps to Create a Welcoming Discipline for ALL Geographers: A New Resource for Indigenous Students

Jolene Keen May 23, 2019 Comments Off2019-05-23T13:48:02-05:00

The AAG is pleased to announce the release of a new interactive web map of colleges and universities that offer both Geography Programs and Indigenous Studies Programs. Developed in consultation with members of the AAG’s…

Social Media at #aagDC

Emily Fekete March 19, 2019 Comments Off2019-03-19T11:14:27-05:00

We’re getting closer to the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting! Whether you will be attending the meeting all week, for a few days, or looking to follow the action from afar, there are plenty of ways…

Ask a Geographer Program Update: Volunteers Needed

Staff July 2, 2018 Comments Off2018-07-02T12:50:57-05:00

Do you like opportunities to talk to those outside of our discipline about the work, teaching, or research that you do and why it’s interesting? Are you looking for a fun service opportunity to support…

Of Note

What “real world problems” do our applied geography members help solve?

Hannah TorresOctober 28, 20192019-12-02T16:56:02-05:00

This word cloud was generated from 134 responses to the question:'What kinds of real world problems do you solve (or aspire to solve) using geographic approaches?' The AAG counts 74 Specialty and Affinity groups for…

Discovering Geography – The International Geography Youth Summit

Sue Roberts August 28, 2018 Comments Off2018-09-25T15:33:26-05:00

Three long-time AAG members met up recently at the 4th International Geography Youth Summit (IGYS) in Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), India. The IGYS was developed as part of The Institute of Geographical Studies (TIGS) in Bengaluru.…

NCRGE Funds Research Networks on Geography and Civics, Geo-Computation, and International Curriculum Research

Staff August 3, 2018 Comments Off2018-08-03T15:18:30-05:00

The National Center for Research in Geography Education (NCRGE) has approved awards for a third cohort of grantees under its Transformative Research grant program. This investment by NCRGE continues a long-term and broad-based effort to…

The Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University Makes History

Joe T. Darden April 30, 2018 Comments Off2018-05-07T10:56:34-05:00

The MSU Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences has admitted and will fund three African American women graduate students for the 2018 academic year. This will be the first time in the history of…

‘The International Encyclopedia of Geography’ receives CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Title 2017

Emily Fekete January 4, 2018 Comments Off2018-11-14T10:32:35-05:00

The AAG-Wiley International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology is the recipient of a prestigious CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2017 award from the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of…

Publications

January 2020 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ Now Available

StaffDecember 4, 20192019-12-04T10:25:08-05:00

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 110, Issue 1 (January 2020) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available. A full list of contents is below. The Annals contains original, timely,…

December 2019 Issue of ‘GeoHumanities’ Now Available

Staff December 4, 2019 Comments Off2019-12-04T09:47:55-05:00

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 5, Issue 2 (December 2019) of GeoHumanities is now available. GeoHumanities is the newest journal of the American Association of Geographers. It features articles that span conceptual…

December 2019 Issue of the ‘African Geographical Review’ Now Available

Staff October 21, 2019 Comments Off2019-10-21T16:13:57-05:00

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 38, Issue 4 (December 2019) of the African Geographical Review is now available. The full table of contents for this issue is below and can also be accessed…

Fall 2019 Issue of ‘The AAG Review of Books’ Now Available

Staff October 16, 2019 Comments Off2019-10-16T09:56:53-05:00

Volume 7, Issue 4 of The AAG Review of Books has now been published online. This quarterly online journal publishes scholarly reviews of recent books related to geography, public policy and international affairs. It also features review essays reflecting on several…

November 2019 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ Now Available

Staff October 4, 2019 Comments Off2019-10-04T09:50:26-05:00

The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 109, Issue 6 (November 2019) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now ;A full list of contents is below. The Annals contains original, timely,…

Addenda

Researchers with disabilities in the academic system

Aleksandra (Sasha) Kosanic, Nancy Hansen, Susanne Zimmermann-Janschitz, Vera ChouinardSeptember 1, 20182018-10-02T17:08:07-05:00

Although researchers with disabilities are an exceptional category, they are a still very much underrepresented group in Academia worldwide. With billion people with disabilities worldwide, the percentage of academic positions filled in by academics with…