Charles Christonikos is currently a senior at The George Washington University, pursuing a B.A. in Geography with minors in GIS and Criminal Justice. Charles is passionate about urban geography and planning, and hopes to pursue a master’s in urban planning post-graduation.
Outside of his academics and work with the AAG, Charles enjoys biking, language learning, and exploring Washington, DC.
Tolu Ajayi is currently in his last semester at University of Maryland College Park, pursing a B.S. in Geographical Sciences. Some of Tolu’s strengths include GIS, Computer Cartography, and Programming. After graduating Tolu plans on obtaining his masters in Computer Science, with hopes to become a Web Developer.
Outside of school and his work at the AAG, Tolu’s interests include basketball, weight lifting, and fashion.
Shane Colgan recently completed his bachelor of science in Geographical Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. He will be attending the University of Maryland, College Park to pursue his masters in GIS starting this upcoming Spring semester. His geographic research deals with vegetation indexes and tree top canopy analysis to document the habitat of bats in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware.
When not at work or doing research Shane enjoys watching the Capitals ice hockey team.
The AAG is pleased to announce three themes for the 2018 Annual Meeting to be held in New Orleans from April 10-14. 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.
Contributions to the Black Geographies theme will address the meaningful role of Black communities and individuals as they advance the production of geographic knowledge and space-making practices. Likewise, contributions will encourage the critical reflection on the issues, processes, intrinsic qualities, and interconnections that shape Black lives and geographies on local, national, continental, and international scales.
Geographers are uniquely situated to address the myriad challenges presented by hazards due to the interdisciplinary nature of our discipline. The Hazards, Geography, and GIScience theme will approach these issues from multiple perspectives, with the goal of using the research and tools of Geography and GIScience to learn from past events and plan for future hazards.
The Public Engagement theme will create and open spaces for demonstrating, debating, and improving how geographers engage public groups through their research, teaching, and other professional practices. This theme seeks paper, panel, and workshop sessions that explore the practical strategies, ethical considerations, and challenges of geographers interacting with a broad array of communities.
More information about each of these themes will be forthcoming. To submit your abstract or session for consideration as part of one of these three themes, please select the relevant theme name in the “Theme” dropdown in the abstract/session submission console. If you have already submitted your abstract or session, you can log into the console and edit your submission. All submissions to the themes are due by November 8, 2017.
Presentations by
Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, AAG VP, UT Austin
Timothy Beach, UT Austin
Geoffrey Wallace, McGill University
Adrienne Kates, Georgetown University
Bianet Castellanos, University of Minnesota
Discussants
John McNeill, Georgetown University
Matthew Restall, Penn State University
John Tutino, Georgetown University
On Friday September 8th, the AAG’s Vice President Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, presented her research at an event hosted by Georgetown University and The Mexican Cultural Institute. The event, Maya Peoples Making History: Founding a Civilization, Adapting to Empire, Engaging Capitalism and Migrating with Globalization, traced the history of the Maya people from prehistory to modern times. It was held at the The Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington DC, an historic mansion that was recently designated a historic site in the National Register of Historic Places. The building boasts vivid murals of Mexican culture and history, intricate tilework, and often hosts events and art exhibits.
The presentations began with Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach and Timothy Beach of UT Austin discussing their research which combines geoarchaeology, botanical analysis, and laser mapping (LiDAR) to reconstruct the environmental history of the ancient Mayan landscape in Belize. LiDAR has been beneficial to archaeology because of it’s ability to image landscapes beneath dense vegetation such as the forests of Central America. The research by Luzzadder-Beach and Beach shows that LiDAR’s survey capabilities can expand occupation areas of the ancient Maya to approximately twenty times what was previously known.
The duo was followed by Geoffrey Wallace of McGill University, currently a visiting researcher at Georgetown University. His scholarship focuses on the environmental history of the Yucatan Peninsula through the changes in the political and social landscapes as a result of colonization. He is building geospatial databases from historic records that can be used to analyze the movement of people and distribution of commodity goods production in the Yucatan.
Next was Adrienne Kates of Georgetown University who explored the chicle trade in Quintana Roo, Mexico from 1901-1930 and the Maya peoples’ fight for autonomy from the Mexican government.
The formal presentations concluded with Bianet Castellanos’ anthropological perspective of the modern condition of the Maya. She reviewed traditional gender roles and how Maya women navigate these gender roles in a global economy.
The talks were followed by discussion sessions led by John McNeill, Matthew Restall, and John Tutino. From taming the challenging ecosystem of the Yucatan thousands of years ago to integrating into the global economy of today, the conference was a celebration of the continuous adaptability and resiliency of the Maya people.
Every month the AAG compiles a list of newly-published books in geography and related areas. Some are selected for review in the AAG Review of Books.
Publishers are welcome to send new volumes to the Editor-in-Chief (Kent Mathewson, Editor-in-Chief, AAG Review of Books, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803).
Anyone interested in reviewing these or other titles should also contact the Editor-in-Chief.
September 2017
Atlas of Untamed Places: An Extraordinary Journey Through Our Wild World by Chris Fitch (Aurum Press 2017)
The Borders of “Europe”: Autonomy Of Migration Tactics of Bordering by Nicholas De Genova (eds.) (Duke University Press 2017)
Foucault: The Birth of Powerby Stuart Elden (Polity Press 2017)
Foucault’s Last Decade by Stuart Elden (Polity Press 2016)
Foundations of Modern Macroeconomics: Third Edition by Ben Heijdra (Oxford University Press 2017)
The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail by Jason De Leon (University of California Press 2015)
Limits of The Known by David Roberts (W. W. Norton Company Inc. 2018)
Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell (Chronicle Books 2017)
The Magnificent Nahanni: The Struggle to Protect a Wild Place by Gordon Nelson (University of Regina Press 2017)
Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy by Sugar Bose and Ayesha Jalal (Routledge 2018)
Nostradamus: A Healer of Souls in the Renaissanceby Denis Crouzet (Policy Press 2017)
Rethinking International Skilled Migration by Micheline van Riemsdijk, Qingfang Wang (eds.) (Routledge 2017)
Seeing Like a City by Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift (Polity Press 2016)
Understanding GIS: An ArcGIS Pro Project Workbook by David Smith, Nathan Strout, Christian Harder, Steven Moore, Tim Ormsby, and Thomas Balstrøm (ESRI Press 2017)
Wild Articulations: Environmentalism and Indigeneity in Northern Australia by Timothy Neale (University of Hawai’i Pess 2017)
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
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
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’ 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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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 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 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
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
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.
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 2017Recent 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.
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.
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
IN THE NEWS
Popular stories from the AAG SmartBrief
EVENTS CALENDAR
Submit News to the AAG Newsletter. To share your news, submit announcements to newsletter [at] aag [dot] org.
The AAG’s new Undergraduate Student Affinity Group has elected their first board. Congratulations to the following:
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
The AAG is very excited for these student leaders to guide this group to serve our growing community of undergraduate student members.
For more information about USAG, visit the USAG Knowledge Community or follow @AAG_Undergrads on Twitter.
